Head's Up For Anyone Doing Business in Calgary!

[eastcoast]

Originally Posted by hal53

As a small business guy, I love how everyone thinks "so what?, it's a writeoff anyways"...well, you pay the cash up front for starters, and at your year end you get a deduction due to it being an operating expense, a year after the fact you paid it, in some cases. As well, some are rejected by CRA as non-justifiable...at the very least the "write off" becomes another expense that you may recoup a small portion of in your very large tax bill at year end.

while that's true, as an employee I have very few write off's and probably pay a higher tax rate than alot of businesses that make alot more money than I do.

[mooseknuckle]

Wish I could write off a other 6783.50 a year!! What's the problem? Business can't be that bad.

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by Sandalius

I believe that this applies to Tree because of the pylons placed behind the chipper to direct traffic and make a safer work site. So if your not using pylons it shouldn't be a problem ????? just a thought, not the safest work environment though.....
Definitely worth a phone call to the city...from a payphone so they cant figure out who you are......

Krista, I was fully outfitted with 5 full sized pylons. Was also given a warning for inadequate signage......another $500 bones. Obstructing a sidewalk (this includes extension cords on cold nights btw)......... $1000.00 fine.

May there be a special place in hell for liberal busybodies!

[AxeMan]

Tree, I think you should have just put the run on him with a revving Stihl 260 in hand. Texas chain saw massacre style.....

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Wish I could write off a other 6783.50 a year!! What's the problem? Business can't be that bad.

What do you do, Moose. You may just qualify if you feel like volunteering.

75ft will be able to releate, but business has NOT been good. During the boom, it seemed like every goof with a pickup and a saw became a tree service. We came in on the low side (multiple bids...industry standard stuff) of a job late this past summer with a $20K bid. We got the job and the day before starting it were informed that another crew came in at $3750. So yeah, the past 24 months has been an incredible struggle........

[Sandalius]

OMG Tree that's BS!!!! I think city hall is gonna get a call from my company and myself personally telling them its crap! I truly hope the bylaw guy you were dealing with is Wrong !!

[hal53]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Wish I could write off a other 6783.50 a year!! What's the problem? Business can't be that bad.

the point is...you have to pay the 6783.50 out of your business account in after tax dollars that comes off the bottom line along with other never ending expenses...as much as everyone says the small businesses are the back bone of the economy, the gov't does everything they can to make sure you fail...that 6.3k could likely be better utilized for Tree to pay a seasonal employee his wages for a portion of the year, rather than throwing it in the dark hole of City Hall in Calgary....Man! I'm glad I got out of there!!!

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by Sandalius

OMG Tree that's BS!!!! I think city hall is gonna get a call from my company and myself personally telling them its crap! I truly hope the bylaw guy you were dealing with is Wrong !!

I spent over an hour with this guy today (real nice guy), and then made some phone calls. No mistake at all. I do believe it applies mainly to the construction industry, but the way it was repeatedly explained means that ANYONE can get hit with this. Call your alderman, or whatever the hell they call themselves today. This is something that should be repealed.

[gramps73]

What are your business taxes for? I run a auction company in the city and every time you turn around it is something else...
Seems a little steep for a city user fee..

[avb3]

Have you looked into what we used to refer in Edmonton as a "hoarding permit"? We had our electrical sign maintenance trucks with these permits which allowed us to park on sidewalks and block off parts of streets as needed to either maintain or install neon or other electrical signs.

I forget the cost, but it was not any where's close to what you are quoted. It may not solve your problem, but on the other hand, it may. We never had any bylaw problems with it.

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by hal53

the point is...you have to pay the 6783.50 out of your business account in after tax dollars that comes off the bottom line along with other never ending expenses...as much as everyone says the small businesses are the back bone of the economy, the gov't does everything they can to make sure you fail...that 6.3k could likely be better utilized for Tree to pay a seasonal employee his wages for a portion of the year, rather than throwing it in the dark hole of City Hall in Calgary....Man! I'm glad I got out of there!!!

Fair enough however business pays around 20% personal is around 40%. with the right bean counter a business owner can take a chink of that.

[mtylerb]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Fair enough however business pays around 20% personal is around 40%. with the right bean counter a business owner can take a chink of that.

All depends on whether you're incorporated or not.

[crazyfish]

Sorry to hear you had a bad day, at least you got a warning !!! I think i saw you having your fun with the bylaw guy ! Just off 16 th ave ? So ....plans for the yearly pass ???? ouch !

[ctd]

You have a Business permit to operate in the City of Calgary and they also want a "street use permit" I guess tow trucks, Commercial delivery trucks, construction, pizza delivery, taxi, cranes etc all need to get one of these. Wow that is lots of money in the coffers.

If I lived in Calgary I would be fighting this one alongside you. Good luck and hopefully enough people get behind you and fight this Bylaw.

[bobcatguy]

Tree just charge a $25 pr day or job public lands usage fee.
that would be 17.50 for city & 7.50 for processing .Cost of buisness

[Lonnie]

TREE; your going to have to get involved in city politics.get a bunch of these small business & operators together, get a partition going and if council members don't start repealing these stupid tax bylaws start running your own candidates for counsel.there is nothing that motivates a politician like the thought that he may loose his spot at the pubic feed trough.

[winged1]

'permits' are a common requirement amoungst the trades, and in ALL cases that cost is born upon the client. Why would this be any different?

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by winged1

'permits' are a common requirement amoungst the trades, and in ALL cases that cost is born upon the client. Why would this be any different?

but to get taxed for being parked in an ally or street while your working on something and have a city business licence. that should be included in the licence. and most permits amongst the trades are more to do with building codes I think.

[TangoKilo]

take this one to the media!!

[Redfrog]

I'm kinda disappointed Tree. You had the chipper and still made this post?????


It sounds like an 'Egg management fee".

I think the biggest challenge for small business is gov't intervention. We would be better served if they got the heck out of the way and let a guy work.

I had my share of it for years and years. I don't envy you.

Charge an extra $25 a day for permits.

[RumRugby]

I can definitely sympathize with you on permits. The City of Edmonton's so called Planning & Development department is a joke to say the least! To have an automotive repair shop in Edmonton you have to have a Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council License (AMVIC) as well as a City Business License. In order to get a City License you have to have an AMVIC License, in order to get an AMVIC License you have to have a City License. . .basically one big loop to which I was told by the Planning & Development department of the City of Edmonton, oh yeah, I suppose it is a loop. . .well good luck with that, and they hung up the phone!! Finally had to go up the chain of command until I found a man that would actually do something (most of the people I've talked to there are women. . .) Took 6 months to get the actual paper copy of the licenses after paying for the renewal (pardon me for veering off subject). Very frustrating indeed!!

[Okotokian]

nevermind... turned my brain on.

[Tuc]

Anyone else ever hear of this?

You betcha, we chased them out of our Parks all the time. Some of these guys think they can just drive in over the park and build a new fence or whatever without the proper permit. We give em one warning and if they don't listen or get mouthy, we call bi-law and they are usually fined.

[rugatika]

When you are writing out your invoice you itemize the amount for permits, taxes etc etc. People forget when paying bills that not all of it goes to the invoicer...lots of it goes to the gov.

[leeaspell]

So if you have say 10 people working on a given day doing 10 different jobs, do you need 10 permits or does one cover all your employees

[BlackHeart]

This is not just Tree's problem; its a problem that we have allowed to be created and have accepted for our own safety or for keeping the increase in property taxes down after the allocation of public funds to politicians legacy projects that benefit their freinds has wasted the funds neccessary for the basic services.

The machine has been created and is alive and now needs to be fed....and we are all on the menu.....or at least our hard earned incomes are.

When we allow politicians ,.... instead of properly manage the current income streams responsibly and make investments that reduce their drag and sucking,.....to create their own little empires (what person feels successful if his budget is shrinking) and grow their expenditures without true concern for the longer term effect.... what we get is distorted laws and tax programs.

When we create quazi-law-tax-enforcers they need to be fed as well....but its all for our own safety. For those on the QEII issue that espoused more by-law and sheriffs and photo-radar....your helping to create these monsters.....as when they have, by punitative and slimly setup tricks exhausted all avenues of collecting traffic ticket revenue which will eventually happen as the message will be heard and only the slimiest and dirtiest of tricks will bring in revenue....they will turn on their master, hungry to support their budgets and keep their positions.

To summarize the situation; we have the politicians and the bylaw working hand in hand to support and justify and feed each other off of the rest of us.

Where am I going with this....well I am just scratching a small summary of the intertwined issues (its a concept some will not get and want to argue the details of, but its the big picture thats the issue)....but maybe a few shots at some issues, that I have engaged on here will point out what I am trying to say.........

Some have argued for the Olympics and govt funding of this.
Others have agrued for public dollars to be invested in NHL hockey arenas.
Some wants bylaw officers around every corner to gestapo the speeding limit.
Some want restrictions on mags for their safety needs.
Some have argued for funding of a billion dollar national identy media outlet.

And yes I am mixing the fed/prov/muni tax sources, but it all from the same artery....us.

Where do the dollars come from to fund these fantasies....the home owner and the storefront business owner are fully loaded......its a dangerous thing for a politician to load these camels anymore.......unless of course you can lie and tell people it won't cost more/anything, its for their own safety not revenue collection, its going to create economic spin off....blah blah blah....all lies and unproveable......hard to be held accountable for something that doesn't show up for measurement........

So rather than trim the fat and waste...we get the preying/blood letting of untapped resources.

Tree as much as I hate what your up against...you must ask a few questions....

1) If they can't tap the current sources further what then?
2) If you operate a mobile business are you not avoiding the taxes incurred by those businesses that are sitting ducks(store fronts) for city bloodletting/ taxes?
3) Do you support the use of taxpayer dollars for non-essential projects outside the core mandate of govt? (no need to argue core mandate as that is one thats been done and is futile - but you know where the general line is considered to be)

This is not an issue of how to get Tree off of paying....they will only bite into someone else's neck.......this is a issue of why this tax is needed in the first place.......dealing with this one tax issue is like sticking your fingers in the dike.....and if Tree does not pay, someone/business/homeowner/etc else will have to.

P.S. Just thought I would liven up the issue and provoke some deeper thinking.....some of the general issues have lacked some vigour lately.

[rugatika]

Well said Blackheart. The gov is a parasite. I'm always amazed at people that complain about taxes but then support gov spending on this or that pet project or complain when gov cuts spending on something. (not that this applies to Tree)

There needs to be an absolute limit to gov taxation levels set in the constitution. They have pretty much figured out a way to tax every damn thing we do or buy. We are literally slaves to the bureaucrats. Everyone should read "Road to Serfdom"...by FA Hayek.

[BlackHeart]

Originally Posted by rugatika

I'm always amazed at people that complain about taxes but then support gov spending on this or that pet project or complain when gov cuts spending on something. (not that this applies to Tree)

There needs to be an absolute limit to gov taxation levels set in the constitution. They have pretty much figured out a way to tax every damn thing we do or buy. We are literally slaves to the bureaucrats. Everyone should read "Road to Serfdom"...by FA Hayek.

To poke a little at Tree, I did point out some of things that he has posted supported of, like Olympic games and he is a hockey fan. (Tree I don't mean to add to your misery....but your a smart guy....figure a way around it.....and at least "Make Them Pay" for their little beauracratic ways)

Most hockey fans fear losing their beloved millionaire owned home(sic) teams.......or like Quebec City don't care who is footing the bill for having a home team....as long as the pain and bleeding is spread far and wide...preferably much farther away like the feds or Alberta indirectly....why else does Alberta give to the equalization system but for them to have a hockey team......nothing like a french fav home team stick to our face to start the taxation blood letting....Don Cherry on CBC would be proud.

On the "figured out a way to tax every damn thing"....I don't agree.....they always seem to find new ways of taxing what was previouly free......so generally if its currently free, I wait for the axe to fall as either direct of indirectly they will get their grubby little hands on it and suck it to death. They also seem to see stuff that can be deemed to have value and find a creative way to tax that. They also have figured out a way to tax us for the weather and temperature variation through carbon taxes. So just when you think they have taxed it all......there is now a new something to tax created out of thin air......see internet ban width issue.

But I will give them points for trying hard to nail everything....even martial conjugation indirectly.

I've put the book you mention on the "to pick up" list.......but I am sure it will only confirm my own thoughts.....but its always good to see someone elses take on things.

Years ago I had a political debate with a pro-liberal-big-govt philosophy graduate. The point that he got stumped on was my comment that govt acts an intermediary setting up and enforcing a system of free enterprise for the very rich and socialism for the rest of us, burden us with our lazy fellow man, thereby enslaving us in our current economic position while solving a problem that could cause aggrevation and impinge the carefree freedom and safety of the rich. All problems are taken care of and the class structure through taxation and socialism is strengthen. I wonder what Hayeks take is or if it is in the same vein.

And I really don't want to hear "Vote" as thats a simpleton answer with very little reflection on a game rigged from the start....if you believe in the political process, you probably still believe in the tooth fairy.

[TreeGuy]

Excellent post, Blackheart! I must admit to having a hearty belly-laugh while reading it though. At approximately the mid way point the imagination kicked into high gear. A mental picture emerged of you sitting before your computer, tapping feverishly at the keyboard, with a glint in your eye and diabolical cackles filling the air. You’re not THIS guy by any chance are ya?

I must beg both your forgiveness and your patience in the two-fold reason for my tardy reply. One is a tale of shame......one of hope. Being an infernal optimist, I shall begin on a positive note. Hope.......

We have had a house guest who required our full attention. A buxom chum of Mrs Tree’s, and a lass most fair. With an attire and figure of Pamela Andersonesque proportions, the ensuing result of blood transference from one brain to another left me barely capable of communicating via single syllables let alone providing you with a satisfactory reply.

(This temporary dementia is likely the primary reason she said no to my proposal of having her move in and helping to make my lifelong dream come true........ Film the new number one reality television show...... Tree’s Company!)

In regards to my tale of shame, I’m terribly sorry to have to admit to you that I am now a softened errrr, hardened criminal. For last night, my friend, an unexpected snowfall we did receive. As the friendly neighbourhood politburo did not open until long of after my contractually obligated start time I pre-meditatively went to work today without my street use permit!

That’s right, I did it. Under the cover of darkness, my not so merry band of masked marauders ventured bravely forth into the cold air to free women, children, and seniors from the icy grasps of winter! While nervous, they trusted in the cunningness of their peerless leader! We clandestinely cleared doorways, driveways, businesses and several kilometres of city sidewalk! (and NO the irony was NOT lost on me! ).

Now I must congratulate you on exposing my hypocrisy. For yes, I did support the Vancouver Olympics. I do support a new arena in Edmonton and I do support the use of hard earned taxpayer dollars responsibly for projects which will not only add long term economic benefits to communities but also an improved quality of life. Thus I completely understand why you pounced. Touché good sir!

What I do not support are ventures such as what we are seeing in quebec city and they’re $400m idea without even having a franchise in place, in a city where it failed the first time. Mind you, in reality, the only thing the French ever got right (judging by your extensive collection of memorabilia, Gargamel) was Celine Dion!

So, after some thought, we realized that liberty hating liberals shall never be able to overcome the ingenuity of true capitalists. Due to the erratic nature of this business, there is little choice but to pay this frivolous tax. Estimate/invoice forms shall be altered to include ‘Street Use Permit Fee Courtesy The City of Calgary’ between ‘total’ and ‘gst’. In addition to the write off, any time we visit more than one site per day it shall be a $17.50 profit. We’re so excited about the potential of this that we’ve actually sent a message to micheal moore asking for his thoughts on this new business model.

Therefore, in closing, if you actually believe a word of this post I have a bridge to sell ya! BH, you ever make it down this way, please let me let you buy me a beer.

[hal53]

^^^^^ as usual...great post, thanks for the chuckle!!...
H.