Pay: Statements, Backpay, Benefits, Deductions (Taxes, T4), Deployed ect... [MERGED]

[bossi]

"All‘s well that ends well."

And, for future reference, a good reason why it‘s wise not to let our frustration get the better of us ... (not that I‘m an apologist for "the system" - as mentioned previously, the federal Liberal party doctors may well have done this deliberately in order to milk every last drop of news coverage out of this issue in order to deflect attention away from the sponsorship scandal, or to deliberately generate the image of a government with a conscience willing to rethink a hasty decision and magnanimously extend a caring hand to the soldier ... who‘ve they‘ve cynically neglected for years ... and finally, it‘s a rather blatant example of vote-buying)

Now ... if they would only figure out how to make it even MORE fair, so that ATHENA Roto 0 would get the tax break for their entire tour ... just like Roto 1 ... THAT would be nice ... sigh ... guess it‘s time to wake up and smell the coffee, eh? Oh, well - it‘s the thought that counts - and, the Canadian public is now better educated vis-a-vis realising that their troops have been getting the tax shaft for decades from the federal Liberal party.

 

[bossi]

More on Pandora's box ...

Medal, tax break sought for Canadian guards
Top soldier says he'll fight for recognition for soldiers guarding embassies in war zones such as Afghanistan
 
Stephen Thorne , The Canadian Press
June 28, 2004

KABUL - Soldiers guarding Canadian embassies in high-risk areas should receive benefits comparable to those given peacemakers and warriors, including medals and tax exemptions, says the chief of defence staff.

Soldiers protecting diplomats and embassies in places like Afghanistan and parts of the Middle East are currently not eligible for many of the benefits afforded their front-line brethren, but they should be, said Gen. Ray Henault.

"Certainly they have equal risk," Gen. Henault said in an interview. "Although they are not patrolling the streets like the force here and there are ... things they are not required to do, they are nonetheless in a very volatile environment.

"They are vulnerable to all of the things that many of our (peacemakers) here are vulnerable to, whether it be unexploded ordnance or improvised devices or suicide bombers. The risks are there. We can't discount that."

Military Guard Support Units, as they are called, are made up of regular forces troops seconded to embassies around the world for a year at a time.

Combat and peacemaking tours are only six months, but embassy security is considered a posting, similar to appointments in Germany or the United States, only their families are not posted with them.

Their job is to guard the ambassador, his staff and the embassy itself. And, in Kabul, they are hopelessly undermanned and under-equipped.

"These men have ... faced the business end of rifles on a daily basis," said a source. "They have lived not under the protection of a military camp with hundreds of armed soldiers but in the middle of a very dangerous city."

Criteria for an Afghan service medal are currently being considered by the Governor General, whose office is responsible for military honours. The federal government has not finalized criteria for the tax break, which was announced in the last federal budget.

Gen. Henault acknowledged that the Kabul diplomatic mission is "one of the more difficult" Canada has worldwide. While embassy security staff are not members of the NATO force and are not included in the risk assessment provided peacemaking troops, Gen. Henault said consideration should be given them for at least a medal and a tax break.

"We will have to look at (a medal) because they are operating in a part of the world where, at the very least, they should be recognized for what they've done in a very volatile security environment," he said.

And, he added, "the Military Guard Support Unit in a place like this is really one that we should consider" for a tax break.

 

[Armymedic]

This is turning into a bigger boondoggle then I thought when I first put this on....

When those people screw things up, they sure do it right.

 

[logau]

Hey - no fair! All us strap hangers at NDHQ want some gravy too - for our poutine that is!

Well done to all who wangled some swag. And for those who didn`t, start writing up your case.

For all serving outside of the country - see you home soon and have a few dozen on Canada Day if you are outside the no beer zone!

Best regards

The Poutine Patrol at Fort Fumble

:fifty: Fuzzy, Wuzzy and Porky! :soldier:

 

[rdschultz]

This might be better suited in off-topic, I'm not sure.  But it applies to the military, so military related might work?  Either way, moderators, feel free to move it. 

I'm just curious if anybody has encountered something similar, or has any knowledge of the subject matter.  If not, oh well, but it can't hurt to ask.

First off, I already know that while I'm at St. Jean, income tax will be deducted off my pay according to the Quebec income tax tables.  When I go to file, I'll file under the province of which I reside on 31 Dec. 2004.  Now when I leave for St. Jean, I'll be a resident of Saskatchewan.  I'll leave no significant residential ties to Saskatchewan however, so this has me confused.  The CRA seems to define the most significant residential ties (in determining one's province of residence) as:

(a) dwelling place (or places), 

(b) spouse or common-law partner, and

(c) dependants.

Now, (b) and (c) don't apply to me.  I have no dependants nor any spouse.  I'm curious as to how (a) applies with regards to living at St. Jean. I'm moving out of Saskatchewan, leaving no official dwelling place behind.  But, as of 17 Dec., I'll no longer have a dwelling place in Quebec either (although I will be returning in January), so I'm thinking none of these will apply.  I guess it would help to know the definition of dwelling place, but that is really secondary to what I'm trying to determine. 

There are secondary factors for people outside of Canada, but that won't apply to me.  There are no other factors listed for determining provincial residence, but consider these facts:

I'm leaving Saskatchewan, but all my bank accounts, cell phone bills, any sort of professional membership in any organization, and all the belongings I'm storing are going to be stored in Alberta.  As I said, I'll have no residential ties to Saskatchewan, unless my 'place of enrolment' becomes my official place of residence.  Others have said that us how it works, but those who have told me that didn't have as complex a scenario as I do, and they have a spouse still living in their place of enrolment.

I don't expect that anyone here has encountered my situation exactly, but any tips would be appreciated. Obviously where I file will be a determining factor in how much money I get back.  Alberta is the ideal situation, Quebec is the worst, and Saskatchewan is somewhere in between.  I'm thinking it might work to my advantage to pay my parents a small token amount of rent (with receipts), or even get my mother to put my name on the apartment lease, just to maintain a something of a dwelling place in Alberta.  This is sort of stretching the rules, so I don't know how that will fly, but I'm going to examine the possibility regardless.  But thats why I'm looking into this now, instead of 5 months from now, because I want to take any steps now to make my situation work.

 

[rdschultz]

Upon re-reading it, I think I may have been better to put it in off-topic.  Hmm.

Also, someone in another thread mentioned that upon enrolment, your provincial health care card is destroyed.  That, and my drivers license (which is up for renewal, and being in Alberta for a couple more weeks, I may as well renew it here) are the only two things giving me any sort Saskatchewan residency.  If the provincial card is destroyed, then I assume I no longer have any affiliation with the Saskatchewan health care setup.

 

[Inch]

I ran into the same thing.  Income taxes are based on your primary residence, so where you're a resident on 31 Dec, it doesn't matter that you've been paying taxes and working in Que. I called CRA a few years ago to see what they had to say, I had spent the 1st 4 months in Ont and the rest of the year in Que.  So come tax time the difference between the tax in Ont and Que, I would have had to pay $500 so I called CRA and this is what they asked, "Where were you on the 31st of Dec? I said Ont. Who's bed did you sleep in? I said mine.  Where does all your mail go? Ont.  Where are your vehicle/credit cards/bank accounts registered? Ont." He said "it sounds to me like you live in Ont".  As long as you can prove that your primary residence is in another province with mail, bank accounts, etc, then they can't say you don't live there. I've filed Ont since I enrolled with my parents address, I just bought a condo in Halifax so I'll be filing NS this year and from now on. Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[Zoomie]

Hey Hoser, for your situation it is rather simple.  You have been posted to St-Jean but your F&E (all your stuff) has been put in storage (IAW posting instruction).  Since the CF did not move your belongings, where-ever they reside is the province in which you file your taxes.  This situation will always save the newest recruits from ever having to pay Quebec taxes.  It won't be until your first "real" posting that you will have to start paying a different province's income tax rate.  You can count yourself lucky....    8)

 

[rdschultz]

Yeah it does help, thanks guys.  I did some more searching in the CFAO'S, and it had said the same thing.  I'm aware of the Dec. 31 deal, but I was wondering if there was some military rule (or a CRA rule for military pers.) regarding place of enrollment, that would somehow supercede the December 31 rule. 

The thing tha confused me is that my place of enrollment isn't going to be my place of residence.  My parents are moving from SK to AB (my Mom already has, and my Dad is soon to follow), so all my crap is going be moving too.  But that obviously won't be a concern.  The only potential Saskatchewan tie I'll have is my current Saskatchewan health care coverage.

This is all a concern to me because of another situation.  With my $40k signing bonus, $25k of which I'll get this year, I get taxed heavily.  Now, I have about $17k in unclaimed tuition benefits, so I'll be getting a fairly big return this year.  The problem is that it'll much nicer in certain provinces.  My quick, very rough, calculations leave me with a $13k tax refund if I file in Alberta,  $12k in Saskatchewan, and little bit less than that for Quebec (which is probably inaccurate, I never did research exactly how Quebec does their little federal reduction thing).  While $1000 isn't the end of the world, it has me worried enough to look into it.

 

[steve-o]

Just browsing the C.F. Recruiting website and looking at the different mocs and I was unable to find any training whatsoever that wasn't done in the bloody province of Quebec! Is this so? And if so, would the unfortunate trainee be forced to pay the outrageous taxes to that damn government? :rage:

 

[NiTz]

hahah .. I live in Quebec, and all I can say is that you're gonna pay JUST LIKE ME! Lol.. I'd like to leave this province too.. We pay WAY too much. For sure if you buy something in Quebec then you just have to multiply the cost by 1.15025 to get approximately the REAL cost. This includes both federal and provincial taxes, as TVQ taxes the amount that has ALREADY been augmented of 7.5% or so (federal tax)  I don't know about other taxes.. but you'll pay TVQ for one and each thing you buy in Quebec.. hahaha

Just out of curiosity, where are you from and how much do you pay in taxes when you buy something in a shop?

Cheers!

 

[Pte. Bloggins]

Umm....I don't know how much looking around you did, but I for one haven't done any military training in the province of Quebec...

From what I know it's mainly reg force basic that's taught there, in St-Jean, and I think officer second language trg as well, but there's plenty of other courses that are taught all over Canada.

Next time check your info better before posting.

 

[steve-o]

I am very sorry Sgt! Please excuse my last post, how ignorant of me! I should have said full-time reg force training appears to be carried out in Quebec, that was what i was refering too. And about the Quebec taxes, i meant would they come out of my CF paycheck, or would it just be federal deductions? If the training is done is Quebec, I assumed that Revenue Quebec would want their greasy little rat paws on my pay.

 

[Pte. Bloggins]

*bursts our laughing*

you weren't referring to me when you said "Sgt" were you? Dude, I'm just a hooked private, a 'Sig' is short for Signalman, which is a Private (trained). Just clearing that up.

(man that's still pretty funny...) ;D

No worries though, everyone makes mistakes. 

Oh, and to answer your question, I think only Federal tax is deducted from your actual paycheque, at least that's what it says on my pay stub. I'm not an accountant though, so don't quote me on it.

 

[TheCheez]

I wouldn't worry about it. Going to Quebec for 10 weeks isn't going to change your province of residence for income tax purposes.

 

[NiTz]

I suppose that if you don't live permanently in Quebec you don't have to pay taxes to revenu Québec but i'm not sure. I'll call my uncle tomorrow and ask him he lived in Ottawa for a while and now he's back in Quebec... i'll come back on this    :warstory:



Cheers

 

[K. Ash]

I think for T4 purposes its based on your income from the province your in.

 

[George Wallace]

While at St Jean you will pay Federal and Quebec Taxes.  It will be deducted from your pay, so you won't even see it.  When it comes to Income Tax time, you will pay taxes for where ever you lived on Dec 31 of that year.  If you happened to be in Quebec, at Recruit School, on that date, that is the tax you will pay.  Note: once you go to Recruit School, you no longer live with Mom and Dad, but at CFB St Jean.

When you get posted out of Quebec, to another province, double check that they change your tax deductions in the Pay Office of your unit. 

The Government wants their money.  They will tax you every time.

GW

 

[Kat Stevens]

render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's.....

CHIMO,  Kat

 

[big_johnson1]

Well, tax season is here, so my question is this: What military related deductions does everyone use? Any tips to pass on?