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Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

reuters.com

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Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#11

Post by revmoo »

objclxt wrote: post #4
legulere wrote: post #2

Slowly the price advantage that Uber has by using loopholes fades away.

> Slowly the price advantage that Uber has by using loopholes fades away. They don't even always have a price advantage anymore, especially if there's a surge. I needed a cab from Chicago Midway to my hotel last night, Uber's upfront price was $48 (and an eight minute wait), a regular taxi was $40 (including 15% tip) and no wait. I took the latter.

How'd you know though? I once called a cab company asking for a price quote and they refused.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#12

Post by flamedoge »

canistr wrote: post #3

I like using Uber. But I also don't like the idea of money flowing out of the country/province/city into Silicon Valley. I'd much rather that the money earned by Uber stays within Canada in some form such as a tax or investment by them into our region. Particularly because Uber-like apps are becoming important to public transportation infrastructure. Additionally, taxi revenue coming from tourism remains in the hands…

We need a Canadian Taxi hailing app. We can make it.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#13

Post by bitJericho »

vkou wrote: post #10
acveilleux wrote: post #6

Using the small supplier exemption seems really doubtful to me. That pushes the tax collection liability on the driver (who can't collect taxes, since payment is through Uber app) and the limit for that is 30k$ so a lot of drivers should probably have charged taxes since they may have earned more. In addition, my understanding (not a tax/law person) is that the 30k$ would be for the whole fare, not the driver's cut.…

> That pushes the tax collection liability on the driver (who can't collect taxes, since payment is through Uber app) and the limit for that is 30k$ so a lot of drivers should probably have charged taxes since they may have earned more. Sounds like Uber needs to update their app. > I wonder if we'll see provinces going after the drivers for back taxes. I'm sure Uber will do the responsible thing, stand by its drivers…

Hahaha good one.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#14

Post by rpeden »

flamedoge wrote: post #12
canistr wrote: post #3

I like using Uber. But I also don't like the idea of money flowing out of the country/province/city into Silicon Valley. I'd much rather that the money earned by Uber stays within Canada in some form such as a tax or investment by them into our region. Particularly because Uber-like apps are becoming important to public transportation infrastructure. Additionally, taxi revenue coming from tourism remains in the hands…

We need a Canadian Taxi hailing app. We can make it.

Does that mean you're interested? If so, let's get some people together, organize an in-person or virtual meetup, and get the ball rolling.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#15

Post by thrill »

vkou wrote: post #7

The fact that they weren't paying GST is mind-boggling. The purpose of the exemption is to let someone running a tiny hobby business sell their products without having to deal with tax headaches. The purpose of the exemption was never to let a mega-corporation take the exemption of each employee, multiply it by the number of employees, and pretend that they don't need to pay tax. What next? A grocery store taking the…

Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. Uber, as part of their service, collects money from riders, giving both the rider and the driver a comfort factor as they don't have to deal with cash. As "hobby" businesses they each individually were enjoying the exemption. Now they will not - because we can't have "hobby" businesses causing discomfort to the well connected.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#16

Post by abandonliberty »

The real issue here should be the abuse of the small provider provision 'hobby' tax code exemption for businesses netting ride sharing.

Uber should fail on both of those counts, but instead the law is changing to end that exemption. This appears unfortunate to me as we could use continued innovation in the ride sharing space.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#17

Post by jacquesm »

thrill wrote: post #15
vkou wrote: post #7

The fact that they weren't paying GST is mind-boggling. The purpose of the exemption is to let someone running a tiny hobby business sell their products without having to deal with tax headaches. The purpose of the exemption was never to let a mega-corporation take the exemption of each employee, multiply it by the number of employees, and pretend that they don't need to pay tax. What next? A grocery store taking the…

Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. Uber, as part of their service, collects money from riders, giving both the rider and the driver a comfort factor as they don't have to deal with cash. As "hobby" businesses they each individually were enjoying the exemption. Now they will not - because we can't have "hobby" businesses causing discomfort to the well connected.

> Uber drivers are not employees.

This is Canada. I'm sure that's how Uber would like to see it but not everybody agrees:

http://business.financialpost.com/news/transportation/uber-d...

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#19

Post by vkou »

thrill wrote: post #15
vkou wrote: post #7

The fact that they weren't paying GST is mind-boggling. The purpose of the exemption is to let someone running a tiny hobby business sell their products without having to deal with tax headaches. The purpose of the exemption was never to let a mega-corporation take the exemption of each employee, multiply it by the number of employees, and pretend that they don't need to pay tax. What next? A grocery store taking the…

Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. Uber, as part of their service, collects money from riders, giving both the rider and the driver a comfort factor as they don't have to deal with cash. As "hobby" businesses they each individually were enjoying the exemption. Now they will not - because we can't have "hobby" businesses causing discomfort to the well connected.

If I staff my grocery store with contractors, can I claim a $30,000/contractor tax exemption too?

The intent of the law is pretty clear - serious businesses (That do more then $30,000/year in sales) are expected to pay taxes. Small ones are not - because of the small amount of tax revenue, and the high burden of compliance for individuals.

The cost of compliance for Uber is trivial. It's a bloody app, for Pete's sakes.

Re: Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

#20

Post by thrill »

vkou wrote: post #19
thrill wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber drivers are not employees. They are independent contractors. Uber, as part of their service, collects money from riders, giving both the rider and the driver a comfort factor as they don't have to deal with cash. As "hobby" businesses they each individually were enjoying the exemption. Now they will not - because we can't have "hobby" businesses causing discomfort to the well connected.

If I staff my grocery store with contractors, can I claim a $30,000/contractor tax exemption too? The intent of the law is pretty clear - serious businesses (That do more then $30,000/year in sales) are expected to pay taxes. Small ones are not - because of the small amount of tax revenue, and the high burden of compliance for individuals. The cost of compliance for Uber is trivial. It's a bloody app, for Pete's sake…

Should you not be able to?
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