28 Aug
2002
28 Aug
'02
10:18 a.m.
The 8% sales and 7% services tax applies (not to food-stuff and childrens
goods) just about in all provinces. I believe only in fundamentalist, oil-rich
Alberta is the sales tax not required.
When it was first brought in it was supposedly a temporary measure (Sure,
just like income tax when it was introduced in the 20's) and the present
government at one time campaigned on a promise to repeal it.
IIRC Canada also had a radio license tax in the 30s. It originally funded CBC
At present CBC-Radio is still ad-free but CBC-TV isn't. It has continually
come under attack and eviscerated by governments unhappy at it's content
unfettered by government and corporate (advertising) control and is now a
shadow of it's forrmer self.
A couple of the newest licensing wrinkles is a gun control one ( there has
long been a required one for handguns and how many banks are held up with
shotguns ?) and in Manitoba, a boating license, which has just about driven
most fishing lodges out of business. On these points I agree with our right-
wing neighbors in the US. It's more than just income, it's about control.
Lawrence
At 01:19 08/28/2002 +0100, Tony Duell wrote:
[[ Bewarned: this is a multinational email... I'm responding to a UK post
from the USA while drinking *too much* Canadian beer... bewarned... ;^> ]]
[snip]
I cannot speak for the UK frequency laws [obviously]
but as a US-licensed
Amateur Extra (AB8KK) and an ISP owner who uses *unlicensed* 2.4GHz
frequencies to deliver 11Mbit ethernet for Internet connectivity I can say that
to transmit _on the amateur [read: ham] bands_ you need to have the appropriate
license. However, if there are any non-licensed areas of the spectrum, you
wouldn't need a license to broadcast provided you met the frequency & power
requirements of those unlicensed bands. Lemme tell ya, 11Mbit is more than
enough bandwidth to xmit TV signals, and at least in the US, there are also
unlicensed 5.2GHz bands which provide even more bandwidth...
And there, friends, is my off-topic post of the day... at least until I get *my*
2.4GHz Internet link... because the first thing going on that is my VAX... ;-)
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
P.S. A few years ago, I moaned when Michigan state tax went from 4% to
6%... altho that's more for the mathematical reasons than monetary... (5%
is much easier on the noggin for a store owner) and I always felt sorry for my
Ontario neighbours with a combined tax of 15%... [ IIRC, which I'm sure I don't:
8% Ont. Provincial tax & 7% GST...) Now I see even *they* don't have it quite so
bad... :-/
lgwalker(a)mts.net
bigwalk_ca(a)yahoo.com