jules.ca

telecom, technology and the occasional floobergeist

I’ve got an abundance of bits and pieces of canadian telecom and internet experience, and I am thrilled to be in a place in time when all is changing, technology is developing, and the status quo is being disrupted. 

Floobergeist is a word that is beginning to defy definition.  The more I roll that smooth pebble around, the more it becomes to mean. Floobergeist started out as the magic dust that turns dreams into ideas.  And then it began to encompass the zing that happens when you have conversations about those ideas. And now, it’s the whole evolution from dream to conversation, with each step improving the later and the former along the way.

Everyone aspires to good conversations. They can lead you to adventures you’ve never imagined, and to people you can twig with.

Let’s have a good conversation…

welcome.

Harper's HomeBuyer Tax Credit

September 29, 2008  /  jules kivell

It's funny, the things that show up in my inbox.
A thousand years ago we had joined the Conservative Party, and despite no longer having any affiliations or inklings to vote conservative ever again, I keep getting email from them ;-)
This one was funny.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced another step in the Conservative party’s economic plan to deliver practical help to hard-working families:  if re-elected, a new Conservative Government will give first-time homebuyers a tax credit for up to $5,000 of the closing costs on the purchase of a new home.

Up to $5000.

The tax credit will help first-time homebuyers to avoid stretching too far beyond their budget to meet these unexpected costs.


Now, I know a lot of people. I don't know many who have never owned a home at least once in their lives.
Of the folks who don't own a home, how many would vote, let alone vote Conservative?

A $5000 tax credit is not going to keep you from stretching beyond your budget. The closing fees on my most recent house were approx $7300. On my first house, they were likely in the $3600 range. Paying it upfront or adding it to your mortgage are essentially a wash.

If Harper wants to help out the first time home buyer, why not waive the Land Transfer tax? Why not allow home buyers to write their mortgage payments off against their income? Then EVERYONE would benefit. Why is it I can write off rent, but not mortgage payments? That might make me vote Conservative again.

Cripes. I should be an advisor to Harper.
Comment