#uccb

[canajunfinances]

Why does the Canadian government tax some of the very benefits it pays out? This article explores the logic behind taxable vs. non-taxable federal benefits, comparing programs like the Universal Child Care Benefit and the (now former) Child Tax Benefit. It questions the administrative costs of taxing government-issued income, the policy goal of clawbacks, and the fairness of complexity in the system. The author suggests a more transparent and efficient structure might achieve the same budgetary goals without confusing taxpayers. Though written in 2013, this article remains relevant for anyone grappling with the oddities of how government support is taxed in Canada.

(via The Hidden Cost of Clawbacks: Taxing Federal Benefits)

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Submitted to whatthefreak4272:

So recently my mother received another universal child care benefit payment a few days ago, about 7 months after they were supposed to stop for me. My parents have arranged for them to be received through direct deposit, however this one was mailed directly to her as a cheque. Conveniently sent a week before the election was called, instead of being quietly deposited the way it usually would have been. She’s convinced that the conservatives are just trying to buy parents votes, and is donating it to the NDP election fund.

[morechalk]

For clarity

Then. I earn. I pay taxes. I get a child tax credit. Now. I earn. I pay the same taxes. I get no tax credits. I get UCCB payment from my tax money. And I pay taxes. Again.

[gothic-punk]

[canajunfinances]

New UCCB and Taxes

New UCCB and Taxes 💰

So the Harper Government introduced the much vaunted New and Improved UCCB  (universal child care benefit) this month so parents (with eligible children)  have been receiving payments, and from what I can tell of the parents I know it has been viewed as a positive thing. Mrs. C8j received the new payment and the back payments as well (conveniently paid just at the start of an election campaign…

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[yahoonewsdigest-ca]

The taxman cometh: Feds to collect $340 million from $3 billion in child benefits

Canada News

The taxman cometh: Feds to collect $340 million from $3 billion in child benefits

The federal government handed out almost $3 billion in child benefit payments Monday, but will claw back almost $340 million from families when the tax man comes calling in April. That estimate doesn't include provincial taxes, which are likely to account for about $160 million more, based on calculations by The Canadian Press. The money is coming from the $2.98 billion handed out Monday to families in the form of increased universal child care benefits, which government ministers were touting at events and online. Employment Minister Pierre Poilievre called it "Christmas in July" for Canadian families.

You get a cheque and it's tangible. You have no idea what you're going to pay back at the end of the year.

David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

The benefit is taxable on the lower income earner in every household. Canadians who received the payments can expect to see some of it taxed next April unless their income is so low that they don't pay income taxes. The government predicts it will earn $140 million in taxes from child care benefit payments in the 2014-15 fiscal year, and $565 million from a full fiscal year of increased benefit payments in 2015-16, or 11.4 per cent of the benefits doled out. The increase in benefits, combined with the elimination of the child tax credit, will mean middle and upper-income earners will have more of the money taxed back at the end of the year than lower income households, said David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

[politicalcanadian-blog]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has told his MPs that Monday will be an “historic day,” the day when his government makes a payout to parents worth a combined $3 billion.

Fantastic. Justin-fucking-Ling of Vice.com tweets in response to this:

@Justin_Ling Jesus goddamn christ.

Does Justin Ling want a job at my blog, maybe?

[politicalcanadian-blog]

Okay This Is Fucking Interesting

Firstly, I have to give kudos to fucking “Low Fade”, on the TorontoGolfNuts.com forum, who laid out this information. I’ve confirmed some of it, but I’m not doing the fucking math and have to assume this person knows roughly what they’re talking about.

The fucking argument goes like this: Because the new “enhancements” to the UCCB are eliminating and replacing the Child Tax Credit (valued at $2,265 per child per year), people making over ninety-thousand-fucking-dollars a year will actually be out of pocket. Here I’ll quote the user:

Now, what this will mean is that if you are earning roughly $90,000 or more per year, your additional annual benefit payment of $720 per child will be more than offset by the fact that you will owe $760 in additional taxes (because of the elimination of the Child Tax Credit as well as the taxes payable on the new benefit) come April 2016. That's right, you could actually be $40 in the hole, thanks to the Support For Families Act striving to put more money into your pocket.

What I have confirmed is that the fucking Child Tax Credit is indeed replaced by this enhanced UCCB. You can see that on this goddamn page, at the end of the “Introduction” section.

The great irony here is that the people who are getting put out by the tax shuffle are probably the people the Conservatives were fucking aiming at in the first place. They’ve even managed to fuck up vote-buying. How about that.