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Thread: Penalized for buying a Micra?

  1. #1
    Senior Member AlphaMicra's Avatar
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    Penalized for buying a Micra?

    So it's no secret that many Canadians in Ontario are moving towards small gas saving cars like the Micra. The result is lower demand of petroleum, resulting in lower prices at the pump. This means that our beloved liberal government is receiving fewer tax dollars from petroleum sales (the price of which is largely made up of tax revenue), so now they're dreaming up new ways of taxing us to make up for the "Shortfall."

    Um...hello? How about government learns to be as efficient as they're preaching us to be? Like, why do we have two separate but similar school boards? Why do we have budgets that continue to stay the same or get bigger year after year? Why are they auditing people for saving $10 in income tax for some BS government program, at an expense that well exceeds what that person saved, only to discover that they dotted all their i's and crossed all their t's?

    Sorry if this is grandstanding, but I don't think we should be penalized for learning to live more efficiently.



    In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
    Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...


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    Senior Member Howie's Avatar
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    When it comes to the government, I have to admit- its the funniest and most contrary job I have ever had. For example, we start swapping out our fleet of staff cars for more fuel efficient vehicles and hybrids for the local run vehicles to save fuel.

    Then the other part of government cries because the low gas price is... hurting the economy?

    And another part lavishes in the low price because tourism increases due to the low gas price.. but it lowers our dollar? Which I would think would bring people over the border to buy more.... But this hurts our economy...?

    And because there is an excess of fuel they cant get rid of, people in the oil patch are being laid off because there's too much fuel Well Duh. Gouge us long enough and we will find ways to make our gas go further, and we wont travel as much. And now you cry and fire people because you failed to realist that the higher you crank the price of it, the less we use and less we buy? Derp! Hurr durrr.. Deeerp!

    I think its more like... "You guys have more money now that your not shelling it out on gas, but now your not spending it from a place where I profit" whining.

    They don't get it. Keep the gas price low and we will use more because we will travel more. You profit less each time we will up, but if its cheap we will fill up more often. Gouge us at the pumps and we wont buy at all.

    As for the government. I work in the government and its the same song and dance. We get a budget to replace our vehicles every 5-10 years depending on the vehicle. We purposely select the cheapest, most fuel efficient vehicles we can that are manufactured in Canada (if possible), usually in orders of 50-100 at a time.

    But of course, those small vehicles we want to buy aren't discounted by the manufacturer! So by the time we get all the fleet discounts applied, the mid size vehicles are now the same cost as the compacts... Uhm.. Wait.. Huh?

    As for the provincial government, yep... If you need any proof of this, look at the fellas with the e-cigarettes. Forget the millions of dollars that OHIP will save from not dealing with tobacco related sickness- were loosing money right now! Government has lost a ton of sin tax revenue because of people not purchasing cigarettes. Pack of Next cigarettes costs $3.95, the remainder is tax. In ontario that's around 6 bucks a pack. Well. Guess what. Now the province wants to regulate it. Hmm.... Makes ya think eh?

    Capitalism. Where the money runs a country. Shouldn't be this way.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra S automatic: 7.9 L/100 km ... 35.7 mpg (Imp) ... 12.6 km/L ... 29.7 mpg (US) ...


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    AlphaMicra (12-04-2014)

  4. #3
    Senior Member AlphaMicra's Avatar
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    Agreed.

    Government agencies get a budget that never shrinks, it must always grow. Even if it means excessive waste, because everyone's afraid if they don't spend their budget this year, they won't get it next year. In theory, our taxes should go down as government moves towards computers and away from people and brick-and-mortar, so now we can do practically everything over the web, but no, there's that budget that they need to keep up, so they become bloated with a lot of uselessness.

    It's the same with our electricity; we all move to LED and CFL lighting. We use less, so now our rates must go up as gas plant projects get cancelled at our expense. Meanwhile, politicians who quit still get over $85k in severance. If I quit my job, I wouldn't even be eligible for employment insurance! It's madness.

    I heard a report that household debt is at an all-time high; how each of us, on average, has around $21k in non-mortgage debt: http://business.financialpost.com/20...bt-pose-risks/

    It's amazing that, as they lose revenue from cigarettes and fuel, they're still not making enough on their casinos, the biggest racket ever. At least they're taxing the stupid more, which is probably the way it should be.

    Here's an idea: How about we keep oil prices low and don't introduce any new taxes, so that people can get their debt under control? Even better, how about government gets out of the business of business and focus on the things government is supposed to be doing? Figure out ways how to lower our taxes, and we all benefit and become less reliant on a flawed system.

    In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
    Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...


  5. The Following User Says Thank You to AlphaMicra For This Useful Post:

    Howie (12-05-2014)

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    Senior Member Howie's Avatar
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    Hear hear!

    Im in the same boat. Worked in the federal government for 14 years now. In 6 years once my current 'contract' is over, I can't even get employment insurance. Not possible for me. But oh yes, I pay into it. And this year past they gave me all my severance contributions back, so no severance at all for me. When I retire I get a 40% pension tho, so I have that going for me...

    So much squandering of taxpayer monies, and so much corporate greed- they basically get to run rampant.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra S automatic: 7.9 L/100 km ... 35.7 mpg (Imp) ... 12.6 km/L ... 29.7 mpg (US) ...


  7. #5
    Administrator MetroMPG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlphaMicra View Post
    Here's an idea: How about we keep oil prices low and don't introduce any new taxes, so that people can get their debt under control?
    Good luck with that. Low gas prices just mean people will finance bigger, thirstier vehicles (commuter F150's!) for 72 & 84 month terms (fastest growing loan segment).

    And then cry bloody murder when gas prices go back up in a year or whatever.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra S manual: 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.5 mpg (Imp) ... 20.0 km/L ... 47.0 mpg (US) ...


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