advice on where to live in Canada

Yup...same here. Gotta do what momma says, or else.

As for plumbing there's only two things you need to know: **** flows downhill and payday is thursday. ;)

Zoogle, you are wrong. You said:


You forgot the third and most important thing: Don't bite your nails.

livingin-canada.com/work-salaries-wages-canada.html

Electricians don't make 50 an hour in canada. Maybe some do but most don't! U almost had me wanting to move to canada. I am kind of suprised it says lawyers make 35$ an hour. How much of a salary do u think lawyers expect to make in canada? It varies greatly where I live. All of the high paid ones work 65+ hrs a week though. Even the ones who are low paid like public defenders making around 80k a year work 50+ hr weeks. Keep in mind 80k a year isn't alot when a one bedroom condo in a nice neighborhood costs 300k and after taxes it would b hard to finance something like that but with a 300k condo u could do it. U wouldn't b able to afford a house though on an 80k salary. U can only have a payment of 25-30% of ur monthly salary if u want a loan. That is also assuming u have a 10% down payment.

You seem to have the mindset that to make good money you have to work for someone RockyMason. It's all about having your own business either full time or on the side after hours. That's how we make 50, 60 sometimes even 70 an hour with a minimal tax hit.

Minimal tax hit? Are u high? It doesn't matter who u work for u pay the same taxes on the same salaries in the US. If u misreport your earnings that is called fraud. U can get put in prison for decades by the IRS. Most small businesses go under if u didn't know zoogle!

U can't compete with corporations they can outbid u without even trying because they buy in large quantities from people who are paid .50 cents an hour. having your own business usually screws u unless u are one of the lucky ones!

Yes, exactly what I meant. :)


Entrepreneurs are loved in Canada :). Small businesses are encouraged here, which is how people can potentially make a lot of money doing the same thing they'd be doing if they worked for someone else.

Taxes are lower for entrepreneurs under a certain range (didn't research the range, so I don't know exactly) and people write off just about everything. Write-offs are an art form for small businesses.

I was speaking about people that I actually know. I assumed it was average (yes, I know assuming is the worst thing a lawyer could do but I'm not a lawyer yet :) ). I've never bothered to look up the average because I have no interest in it.

As for the lawyer wages, I've known lawyers that work for the crown and don't make that much and lawyers that own their own firms (usually small ones) or work for mid-sized firms and are easily making over $100k. It all depends. Our real estate lawyer has his own small firm and is making a lot more than $100k (I know this because he always teases my mom for being a teacher, since he almost became on himself until he realized how much he hated it and became a lawyer instead. Now he teases her that while she's working her butt off, he's sitting around stamping papers and making 2-3 times her salary).


My mom makes more than that as a teacher. She has her MA, and she's in the top category, so she gets paid a bit more than an average teacher, but still, she shouldn't be making more than a lawyer :S

Business in the surrounding Toronto area (I won't speak for all of Canada) can be a huge money-maker if you know what you're doing and start your own business (and get a good accountant). If you know about flipping houses, certain areas in Etobicoke are a gold-mine. You'd have to learn the important bylaws first because its an old town and you wouldn't want to get your building operation shut down for something silly.

only thing lawyers should make is a satisfying clunking sound when they fall through the gallows trap door.

LOL!

I only meant that lawyers have to go through more schooling than do teachers (not to mention that law school costs A LOT more than teacher's college), so its kind of weird when a teacher makes more than a lawyer.

a teacher has the power to expand thousands of minds in their career,a lawyer has the power to make lots of money and either send people to jail or keep crooks out of jail...you do the value maths :)

Thats very out of the ordinary for a lawyer to make that much just stamping papers. Most lawyers are paid by how good they are which is directly related to how many cases they win. The more u work the the more cases u usually win. My dad knows dozens of lawyers in diverse big firms. Everything from real estate law to corporate law and criminal law. All of the high earning ones work 60 hour weeks and don't really do all that well financially until they make partner.(If they can make partner). Small firm lawyers don't make that much 100k is a ton of money for a lawyer at a small firm he is in the top 10%.

If u are looking into a laywer mali don't expect to work any less than 50 hours a week especially when u are first starting. Okay I guess lawyers earn less in canada than in cali. That is a very low salary especially when u consider that cost of law school.

canadianlawyermag.com/images/stories/pdfs/lawFirmResults.pdf

This is a good article note the non billable hours expected of associates. It looks like canadian lawyers do work just as much as american lawyers. If u add the desired 500 non billable hours + the expected hours some of those good law firms are expecting over 50 hours a week with few vacations.

Does your mom teach at a univ or high school? Some teachers earn more than lawyers but they r really restricted. I don't think there are any teachers earning over 150k a year. Professors at a med school or researchers maybe but that is a different field all together. Teaching is a very easy profession when compared to law. Law is cut throat lol. How old is the real estate lawyer u know? I bet he's older and established. It is hard to get established though.

I am probably gonna end up in accounting although I am not sure yet. I will have to work alot at first but I love numbers and $. Accountants also are in high demand because a cpa is so versatile. I am not sure how crazy I am about working really long hours in investment or fund managing but if I was gonna go into something just for the money i would get a cpa then work for a big 4 accountancy firm after that i'd apply for a job with an investment bank. Investment bankers salaries make every1 elses look like crumbs next to a wedding cake. They work up to 120 hours a week though.... most IBs burn out before they are 35. They can easily afford it though.

Ahh yes, "Wszystkie rozumy pozjadal". Good luck in life with that close minded can't do anything attitude.

Let me break it down for you then:

Work regular job 7-3 four, sometimes five days a week for the measly $40/hr you frown upon so much. Get taxed through the nose for it.

Quote some projects on the side, invoice them legally. After marking up the materials you use which you get at a discount you can net 50-80/hr depending on how smooth the job was. Now you've made too much, taxman wants to gobble it all up, time to find some writeoffs:

- part of your house is used as an office: utils, taxes, mrtg interest are partially deducted
- need a vehicle to do this work (last year my vehicle writeoff was a Nissan Skyline ;) gas, insurance, maintenance
- tools which you would have to purchase for your dayjob anyway

There's more but I'm sure you get the idea. I'd really like to hear your ideas how you could export my job for $0.50 an hour too.

Brain surgeon calls plumber at 2:00 a.m. Pipes have burst, and water is running through out the house. Tells plumber to come immediately.

Plumber says, "I can now, but my rate is triple time, $360 per hour."

Doctor says, "Geez, I'm a brain surgeon, and I only charge $210 per hour."

Plumber replies, "That was my rate when I was a brain surgeon, too."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i am not so sure who controls internal revenue in canada but in the USA they would slap u with a fat audit. After that they would discover u were committing tax fraud. Later after dragging u into court they would slap on a 25% interest rate and if u didn't pay up they would confiscate ur assets and liquidate them. Ur a moron! Using your house as a place of business? HAHAHAHAHA a nissan skyline as well as gas and insurance? I hope a smart accountant did ur writeoffs for u! If not then i suspect some canadian revenue agency will liquidate ur assets sometime in the next 5 years.

It takes them a while to discover ur fraudulent acitivities but when they do u are screwed! So did u do the writoffs yourself or was that an accountant? If it was u i suggest u go see an accountant asap!j OH MAH GOD U WROTE OFF A NISSAN SKYLINE? THAT MOST CERTAINLY WASN'T DONE BY AN ACCOUNTANT! UR A HALF WIT! A SPORTSCAR AS A TAX WRITOFF? hahahahaahah

Don't hate because you can't and never will be able to pull it off ;)
I require a vehicle to quote projects. It just so happens that it has 400hp. You talk too much about things you have no idea about.

It's called common sense! Sports cars aren't work vehicles so u can't write them off. Yah and my dad writes off his Bentley Continental because he uses it to go talk with assemblymen (which is his job). So yes or no do u use an accountant? U can't pull off tax fraud either man. U pull it off for now but once the IRS gets to u u are screwed. Fortune 500 CFOs have tried to outsmart the IRS and have been caught. What makes u think u can outsmart hundreds of CPAs?

You seem to be quite the authority on Canadian small business taxation. What are your credentials again?

Well I have taken several classes in accounting and I am fully aware that luxuries don't count as write offs. I just want to know DID U HAVE AN ACCOUNTANT DO UR RETURNS FOR U?

A luxury to one person might be a requirement for another ;) Still waiting on your reply about how you're going to export my job for $0.50/hr.

Okay u don't undestand english? DID U USE AN ACCOUNTANT? Ur job doesn't need to be exported they can import mexicants who will do it for 5 buxx an hour if u work in construction. It's just a matter of time before the mexican'ts make it up to canada.

Well I do not agree.
I just got a client (21years old) who is working in Alberta and makes $3000.00 a week laying pipes for an oil company. I know it for fact because he transfers money every week and I can see it. Also a person I work with had an income of 67000.00 last year and was able in January to finance a house with a mortgage of 550,000.00 with 35,000.down. He also bought a Porsche 911 on line of credit so credit was not an issue here. 80K to finance a 300K condo is a piece of cake, let's see it : 80K income, taxed at (let's say) approx. 45% afetr about 9000 tax deduction will leave with net income of 45500 a year, that's about 3800 net a mont, a payment on 25 year mortgage at lat's say 6% $1600, so you are left with over 2000 net a month. now there are other possible deductions so there must be more money left. So everybody is different and when it comes to electricians..they are paid very well, because there is lack of them.

zoogle didn't write anything about tax fraud but about legit business expenses allowed by both IRS and Revenue Canada. Every item he listed qualifies for tax reduction in Canada, and it would in the US.


It all depends on what line of business you're in. You need to remember that large corporations have large overheads. Those huge office buildings do cost money. The army of secretaries, HR, TV ads and a host of other expenses are covered by charging the customers extra. An electrician working for himself needs a truck and tools. On occasion he will hire an accountant (deductible). His home may be his office and he may use a portion of any expenses spent on his home as deductibles. In fact small businesses account for most of the US economic activity.

You're the halfwit if you think someone is going to let a $5 mexican reprogram or modify/repair multimillion dollar industrial equipment. Stay in school kid, you still need to learn a bucketload to be useful to anybody.

Oh here come the ad hominems. =) And yes I have seen mexican'ts here do all kinds of things u would never expect! There r latino contractors in LA that get agreements worth 10s of millions of dollars.


LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES Well I am not sure about everything else but a 550k home on a 67k salary is an absolute lie or one of the biggest mistakes every made by a lending organization. The payment on that mortgage is 3700 a month with the amounts u gave. His salary at best would be 5200 a month. So that means only 1500 left - porshe payment of at least 400 buxx insurance 60 gas 200= 840 left for other expenses. U would never ever be able to retire with the numbers u gave. That is paycheck to paycheck living at its finest.

oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_2002/tows_past_20021003_c.jhtml

betterbudgeting.com/articles/budgeting/spendonhouse.htm


Where does it say that?

US - IRS Form 8829
Canada - The Canada Revenue Agency forms T2124 and Form T2032

Americans pay less taxes in general so it is conceivable that your example of electrician would allow him to pay just a couple thousands of dollars in taxes on what is effectively the income of $80K to $100K. All perfectly legal.

In Canada, on the same income, given a good accounting, business and record keeping practices you may, in some cases, get away with about $10K in taxes. Further, in Canada we have a federal sales tax (GST). for an average Joe working for someone it's a drag since every purchase and service costs 5% extra. Not so if you have a registered business. The techinque is kinda complex, but when you're done, as a business owner, you end up paying little to no GST on your purchases.

That's for sole proprietorship. If you incorporate then it may be even less in both countries.

Many businesses pay nothing for years (due to initial investment cost, decalred overhead costs and other legit factors). After a few such "skinny years" the revenue agency may declare your business a hobby and you are no longer allowed to operate under that business name. In this case it may be possible to register under a different name and slide on for the next 3 to 5 years. Again, all perfectly legal.

You're 19, still a kid. Look around. No, the roads are not paved with gold, but if you get a contract to pave some of them you'll do well.

No where does it say a sports car counts as a tax writeoff! I am fully aware the roads aren't paved with gold. I want a link to somewhere where it says a sports car counts as a tax writeoff! Electricians don't usually make 80-100k ur exaggerating.

U CAN'T WRITE OFF SPORTS CARS! U CAN BUT LOOK FORWARD TO A KNOCK ON THE DOOR FROM THE IRS IN THE USA!!

No , it is true.True because 1 - he is only 28 years old so plenty of time to make money enough to retire even if it means selling paid off house in 25 years for profit (obvious) and downsizing, 2 - mortgage is for 35 years so payments are lower (significantly) and 3rd- since his car is on line of credit all he has to pay a month is the interest. If it smart what he is doing that, well, is another story. And do not tell me those are lies because why would I lie? Oh I just noticed you are in California. Well, we do not have IRS and our government is much easier to deal with when it comes to unpaid or late taxes. How I know it? I negotiated the terms myself quite a few years ago when I had a rough time and they let me pay over 2 years. Isn't it smarter to get your money with interest after 2 years then throw you in jail and get nothing?

It's possible that he got the loan but it is a terrible move on the part of the lending institution. NO he won't be able to retire lol. If u get something on credit ur paying the payment on the loan plus interest which would b at least 400 buxx for a porche. The IRS won't throw u in jail unless u lie on ur tax forms. Writing off a luxury car as a work vehicle would be fraud. U cannot claim ignorance with the IRS so ur pretty much screwed.

They don't throw u in jail unless u commit a large scale fraud like running a fake charity and donating $ into it then writing it off as a tax reduction. Something like writing off a car worth less than like 40k would just cause them to destroy ur credit history with interest on the $ u should have owed them. The american IRS is absolutely ruthless. They audit every1 who makes more than 30k a year at some point. U aren't lying ur simply misinformed in order to be lying u have to know u are telling a falsehood.

Just attempting to communicate using your methods. Did you suddenly get scared your g/f's brother has the potential to make more money than you? =)

Dude don't even begin to talk to me about $ add my family tree together it would be over 100 mil. $ in my family is easy to come by but most of the richest people in my family r miserable. My dad's best year lobbying he made 700k in bonuses. Any1 has the potential to make tons of $! If i really wanted job security and $ i would just go work for my uncle and get an MBA. He makes over 900k a year and would give me a job of at least 200k starting(he has already offered one to me assuming i get an mba). Or i could work for my grandpa who is best buddies with ross perot and dick cheney. $ isnt that kool. Electricians don't really make that much $ though I just posted the links off of a credible website.