News

Hamilton Mountain News

July 15, 2010

This summer, a stay-cation may be all we can afford. On July 1, the HST came into effect in Ontario and British Columbia. If you’re planning a sunny weekend with family and friends, make some room for your new friend, the Harmonized Sales Tax!

Here are some of the extra costs you will face with the HST in place:
Green fees for golf: Thinking about hitting the course? You can expect to pay an extra $10 in green fees per person, or the cost of one visit to the refreshment cart.

Even fireworks celebrations are now covered by the HST

SooToday.com

OTTAWA – Canada Day celebrations this year will have a little less bang for the buck as the Harper/McGuinty HST will make it more expensive to buy even fireworks. It’s a fitting start to how this unfair tax shift will affect daily life in Ontario.

Charlton's bill would extend caregivers credit

Hamilton Mountain News

Hamilton Mountain MP Chris Charlton has introduced a private member's bill this month to bolster the family income for people living with disabilities by extending the caregiver tax credit to the spouses of persons with disabilities.

"This will ease some of the pressure on the spouses of persons living with disabilities who, up until now, have not been eligible to claim the caregiver tax credit," said Charlton.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadian who opened a tax-free savings account have now found out that these accounts are anything but tax free. In fact they have become tax-grab savings accounts.

People are facing huge penalties for over-contributing because the rules are neither clear nor sensible. People who are simply replacing money they had withdrawn are now having their contributions double-counted, and they are hit with massive penalties.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, just a little over a week ago, I had the privilege of introducing Bill C-527 to the House and petitions are already flooding in in support of that bill. The petitioners are essentially saying that spousal homicide should not pay.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-534, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (in-home care of relative).

She said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to introduce legislation that was first brought to my attention by good friend, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the former MP for Winnipeg North, who, along with her adviser, Chuck Brabazon, did all the heavy lifting to make the bill's tabling possible today.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, tax cuts do not help seniors in poverty. Those seniors are not paying taxes. Canadian workers and failing or bankrupt companies like Nortel and many others need action to protect their pensions. Just last year the underfunded pension plan for CHTV employees in Hamilton wound up with an $8 million shortfall. This, while the executives at CanWest were given $41 million to top up their underfunded pension plan before entering CCAA protection.

OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain) today introduced a bill to bolster the family income of persons living with disabilities by extending the “caregiver tax credit‟ to the spouses of persons with disabilities.

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-386, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (replacement workers).

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP): Mr. Speaker, a year ago the House unanimously adopted an NDP motion calling for the government to allow Canadians to increase their CPP contributions. The government finally appears to have gotten the message, but what is missing from its plans is any effort to lift seniors out of poverty by increasing the guaranteed income supplement. The finance minister does not need the provinces to do that.