There are preparations to impose a different tax in Canada from next month. The more water that goes into sewage passing through people’s homes, the higher the tax will be. This is also being called rain tax, against which Canadians are continuously speaking. Canadians are already paying taxes on water.
Citizens constantly pay taxes on the things they buy or use. This includes small to big products and public property also. Hospitals and roads are also built with this tax. Many times people will be seen complaining about arbitrary taxes. But have you ever heard about rain tax? A similar tax is going to be introduced in Toronto, Canada. This has been announced on the government website there.
Need arose due to runoff
Stormwater management has been a major problem in almost all of Canada, including Toronto. In the last rain, the roads in the country’s capital Ottawa were filled with water. It became difficult for people to even travel for important work. Such problems occur frequently in Canada. To handle this, storm drainage has been made there. This is a special kind of system, through which extra water, which is not absorbed by the soil or trees and plants, comes out. This method is adopted in all countries.
In fact, due to concrete on paved areas like roads, footpaths, car parking, houses etc, water does not dry up that fast. This overflows and starts flowing on the roads or blocking the drains.
The problem is even greater in Canada because there is not only rain but also heavy snowfall. This snow also produces runoff. Let us tell you here that runoff appears when it rains more than the ground can absorb. This not only causes flooding in Toronto, but also as the water starts reaching homes through drains, the quality of drinking water also starts deteriorating.
Where will the tax be levied?
To handle runoff, Toronto administration called for stormwater charge and water service charge consultation. The administration can impose it on all properties, which apart from residential buildings, will also include structures like offices, restaurants. There is an uproar regarding this very thing. Even now the people of Toronto pay tax on water. This also includes the cost of stormwater management. Now with the imposition of new tax, heavy tax will be imposed especially on people living in such places where runoff is high. That is, where there is dense population because water will not dry up there due to buildings.
But how will the tax be calculated?
Tax will be different in different areas. For example, where there is dense settlement, total hard surface will be seen. This includes not only the house, but also the driveway, parking lot and other things made of concrete. In places where there are fewer buildings, there will be less runoff, which will also reduce taxes.
Why are people angry
Personal taxes in Canada are considered quite high anyway. According to a report by Financial Post, this country comes in the category of countries with some of the highest personal taxes in the world, although there are many countries above this. The second reason is that at present many things are not clear in rain tax. Like, what will happen to those who are living in rented houses, or who are homeless. These days, Canada has been in trouble many times regarding its foreign policy. In such a situation, people are definitely angry. Anger further flared up due to this strange tax. People are showing their displeasure on social media.
Even in the year 2017, the Canadian government had talked about this tax. Toronto Mayor John Tory’s committee also voted on this, but due to very low turnout in favor of the rain tax, the tax could not be imposed.
Strange taxes in many countries
In Sweden, children’s names have to be approved by the Swedish Tax Agency. If this is not done within 5 years of birth, a heavy fine is imposed. This rule was made to stop people from using royal names, which is still in practice.
There was talk several times in Denmark and New Zealand about imposing a tax on cow burping. This proposal was almost going to be implemented, but it had to be withdrawn due to anger from the cattle farmers. In fact, many researchers believe that the methane gas present in the burps of cows is increasing pollution. Now instead of tax, the government is getting such fodder prepared, which produces less methane.
A different incident happened in Hubei, China. During the year 2009, there was a rule to pay tax for not smoking cigarettes. This was the period after the recession, from which many methods were adopted to overcome it. This was also one of them.
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