Why You Should Pay Your Taxes

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Many people would prefer not to pay taxes if they can get away with it. This is because people in this category see taxes as a punishment. Some people even have the view that the taxes they pay are not always used for the benefit of the society. Now, these views are inaccurate and do not reflect the true position. Taxes are vital sources of revenue for state, local and federal governments. Taxes are used to provide social services and this why an effective taxation policy should be encouraged. Below are some of the taxes in many civilized societies.

Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
This tax is paid by salary earners and it is a huge source of revenue for state and federal. The PAYE is deducted by the employer and remitted to the account of the relevant governments agencies.

Value Added Tax (VAT)
This tax is a money spinner for the government. In most countries, VAT is just 5% but this small percentage adds up to a lot of money. This is because Value Added Tax is charged on most goods and services and the cash is remitted to the revenue authorities.

Withholding Tax
This tax is charged on certain corporate transactions and it is an important source of revenue. You have invested in the shares of public companies, for instance, and these firms pay you dividends. Every time you get paid dividends, the government takes some of your cash in the form of withholding taxes. You also pay withholding taxes when you get interest from your savings bank account.

Company Tax
Private and public companies usually pay taxes both local and federal taxes. These taxes are charged based on the reported turnover and income of the company in question. The percentage charged may vary from one state to another but this tax brings in huge revenues to both state and federal governments accounts.

Other Taxes
Apart from the ones above, the Inland Revenue Service charges other taxes which help boost revenue and create fund for many government projects. These include property tax, inheritance tax, sales tax and stamp duties. With so many taxes to worry about, it is not a surprise that many people need help filing tax returns correctly. This is where Myles Haverluck tax experts come into the picture. These experts will help you deal all the complicated paperwork that goes with taxation. They will also ensure you file your tax returns at the right time.

Final Word
Make it a point to pay your taxes willingly and happily because the money is used in the interest of the society. In case you find tax matters confusing, consult an expert to make things clear to you.

How To Find The Best Defense Attorneys

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There are times when you might face a court case filed against you for being on the wrong side of the law. The cases may be minor or major and to avoid the heftiest sentences, your lawyers have to be good at the job. They will work around the cases and ensure that you do not get to serve in jail. The lawyers will also ensure that the record you get does not implicate your reputation in any way. Some small Legal records become a huge problem in the future and can make you miss good opportunities.

Information to use for the selection

There are a number of things you will be expected to look for in a personal injury attorney San Francisco. The features will mean they are well informed on how to ensure you are free from the hefty charges you will be facing.

The family members and friends are the best sources for acquiring references. Family consists of close people, who will recommend the best lawyers in the industry. From their previous and first-hand experience when dealing with the law enforcing systems, they will have the best recommendations for you. There will be no reason for the family and friend to recommend a lawyer who will not deliver the best services.

The internet is also a good place to find the best attorneys to work with. The lawyers have websites to their firms. From the websites, you will get all the information you need on the lawyers. The credibility of the information is verified by the feedback from other customers on the websites. After dealing with a case, the lawyer will share the information. The client and other people who were present will write comments that will prove the level of qualification of the lawyer. Before you get to sign any contract, you must insist on a face-to-face interview. The interview will help you get the real proof in the documentation of the cases. The websites you use also have to be real. The best way to establish the credibility of the site is to check with the organization associated with the site.

Asking the other lawyers and the judges can get the best results. It is good to attend some court cases as a visitor to see how some lawyers work and defend their clients. From the cases, you can get a lawyer who will represent you in any matter. With the chance to see the lawyers working, you can be sure they are well informed on the work they are doing.

Conclusion

For the Legal cases you are facing in the court system already, you will be offered a chance to receive the services from public defendants. They may not be the best option because they have a lot of work on their hands. They represent more than one person on a daily basis and can leave you in trouble. It is advisable for you to do an early search to always have a lawyer that can represent you in the court.

How To Find The Right Legal Attorney To Represent You In A Divorce?

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The very early stages of a separation and impending divorce can really make for some stressful and difficult times. Because, to be honest, no one does want to get a divorce and have to go through all the turbulent things that a divorce does tend to bring on for two people. However, the truth is this, despite this fact. A divorce is sometimes the only answer in a number of cases unfortunately. Therefore, when you are facing a divorce, you do have to try and keep a clear head for good decision making that is required for what will come. Nonetheless, wanting to have a clear head may take backseat, when it comes to wanting it all to simply be over with already. A lot of people can end up with the wrong lawyer due to this fact. How to find the right legal attorney to represent you in a divorce? Please read on to learn more. You will be glad you did.

It is imperative to find the right representation in a divorce. It’s as simple as that. You don’t want to have the wrong lawyer on your side in a divorce case. Why is that? The answer is clear. The selection of the right attorney for a divorce is needed for a number of reasons. However, the most important reasons are this, and that is because of the ultimate outcome of your case in the end. The right divorce attorney will not only look out for your best interests. He or she will also fight tooth and nail to make sure you come away with the best settlement possible for your situation. The right divorce attorney is experienced and professional in every way to make sure that their client gets what is rightfully due theirs. It’s as simple as that.

What ares some good tips to help you avoid making the wrong choice when it comes to hiring a divorce lawyer? They are as follows.

*You need to identify your need for a divorce attorney as early as possible – The best way to come away with a professional divorce attorney is this. You, as the party, seeking a divorce from your spouse do need to know that you want a divorce right away. You need to get on the stick to locate a top divorce lawyer and consult with him or her before you get into a high pressure situation where you are served with papers or you are seeking to file for divorce. Don’t wait for the last minute. Get the ball rolling early on. You don’t want to get into a sort of rush approach with having to hire an attorney who does have time to meet with you as opposed to the one that is the best fit for you and your divorce case.

*You should reach out to trusted sources – Sometimes, the best way, to get the finest of all divorce lawyers is by word of mouth. With this said, you should ask your family and friends for the name of a lawyer, because they may have had a divorce or a friend who has had a divorce and did use a certain legal attorney for it. There are many people out there who can recommend a high quality divorce attorney to you. Ask and you do often receive a good name as contact.

Canada privacy

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Hardly a day goes by where Canadians don’t see or hear something in the media about their privacy and how it is affected by the actions of the Federal government. With so much information permeating the psyche about whether or not our information is safe from prying eyes, it can be hard to understand what is really going on. Canada’s privacy laws and the security of our information begin with two basic documents: the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA.

The Privacy Act is Canada’s longstanding legislation about the public’s access to information. It originally came into effect on July 1st, 1983 and primarily outlines how federal government institutions should handle the personal information of individuals. The act states that a government institution may not collect personal information unless otherwise necessary. When the government does collect someone’s information, they must always notify said individual as to why. This information must then only be used for the stated purpose, with few exceptions, unless the individual consents. Furthermore, this information may not be disclosed to the public without the individual’s consent. Every citizen and permanent resident of Canada has the legal right to access the information collected on themselves and request correction if information is inaccurate. If an individual is at any point refused access to this information, they must apply for a review by the Federal Court.

When Bill C-51, or the Anti-terrorism Act, was introduced back in 2015, it was directly associated with the Privacy Act. It allows for greater sharing of personal information. Suddenly something as tightly withheld as tax information would be easily accessible if there was reason to believe it was relevant to a potential terror threat. Although the bill has undergone some editing from when it was first drafted to when it was finally passed March 26th, 2016, this access to personal information by both the government and CSIS is still in effect.

The PIPEDA relates to the collection, usage, and disclosure of personal information through electronic means. It became official law on April 13th, 2000 with the intention of promoting consumer trust in electronic commerce and to reassure the EU that Canada was doing everything in its power to protect the information and the rights of its citizens. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your perspective, the PIPEDA  offers multiple exceptions where a person’s  personal information may be collected, stored, and even disclosed without receiving said individual’s consent, or in fact even notifying them of this, including cases where the information is deemed relevant in the law enforcement process.

On June 18th, 2015, the Digital Privacy Act became law, increasing the number of exemptions in the PIPEDA, including one for business transactions. If a complaint is made against a violation, it must be taken to the Office for the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The commissioner is then required to investigate and report on the complaint.

Physician- assisted death

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A difficult topic for many, there has been heavy discussion around the topic of physician-assisted suicide before and after its legalization in the federal court on June 17th, 2016 –Quebec had made the option legal six months before Ottawa made it official across Canada. While the Canadian government has declared that physician-assisted death is now a viable option for those with terminal and debilitating illness, the actual regulation of specifics like who, why, how, and when have been left up to individual provinces to sort out, resulting in a great deal of research and debate nation-wide.

Most physicians are arguing that they reserve the right to refuse to aid a patient in their desire for doctor-assisted death and should be able to refer them to another doctor in this case, and also to law firms Harrisburg PA. Others state that if this pressure is to be put upon doctors, than they should be offered grief-counselling and other services to maintain emotional well-being. Furthermore, hospitals with religious affiliations have expressed desire to refuse patients based on the grounds that physician-assisted suicide conflicts with their beliefs; Canadian Bishops have also stated that assisted death is grounds for the refusal of Christian burial.

physician-assisted-deathDifficulties in the regulation of physician-assisted death have occurred in determining exactly who qualifies as well. For persons with a debilitating disease there is dissension over whether or not the decision lies solely with the individual or if a family member or partner can step in at some point if the person is no longer abler to state their desires for themselves. The idea of an extensive application process with a grace period has also be debated among many of the provinces –that is once a person makes an official decision to receive physician-assisted death, they are given a period of anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to think over their decision before submitting a second request. However, in this case many doctors have argued that if a person is willing to wait a few months for a decision, than they are not in enough pain to merit assisted death.

Furthermore, balancing the need to relieve their patients’ pain with the need to keep them lucid enough to give consent in their final moments has become a struggle for doctors. There have also been difficulties for critically ill patients in finding the required independent witnesses to sign the paperwork for doctor-hastened death, leading the advocacy group, Dying with Dignity Canada, to round up volunteers who can help.

Although the statistics state that 96 per cent of physician-assisted deaths that have occurred since Quebec first permitted the practise have happened in four provinces –Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec –the numbers are highly skewed as some provinces refused to supply data at all. As of yet, no one is currently tracking these issues, although Health Canada promises a report in the future, which makes it difficult to understand how well each province is adjusting to the new legislature.

Types of Canadian Law

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The law is a messy and complicated thing that takes years upon years of training to fully understand, and even then, most students specialize their training to a particular field at the first available opportunity. If any form of comprehensive knowledge is your goal, I strongly recommend at least taking a course. However, if you are just looking to grasp the bare minimum, or something more specialized like work of a Houston maritime attorney,  simply  the first thing you need is a basic understanding of the different types of Canadian Law.

charter-of-rights-and-freedomsAdjective, or Procedural, Law deals with the procedural rules of evidence, pleading, and practise. Administrative Law deals with the government and governmental agencies, holding them accountable for their decisions. In Canada, we also have an area of law dedicated entirely to the Government’s relationship with Indigenous peoples. Constitutional law deals with all matters relating to the interpretation and application of the Canadian Constitution in legal matters. Human rights law revolves around the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission, as well as any provincial human rights legislation. Immigration/refugee law focuses on the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights, responsibilities, and conditions for removal.

Civil law is your everyday stuff; it’s generic, non-criminal, and attempts to settle disputes between private citizens.  Family law focuses on marriage, divorce, marital property, spousal support, and other family dynamics issues. The substance of both divorce and marriage lies solely with the federal judicial system while the provincial judicial system deals with the procedures surrounding marriage. Inheritance law is, obviously, all about the distribution of inheritance and is regulated exclusively in each individual province. Canadian labour and employment law is almost always dealt with on a provincial level, except in very specific cases where the federal court applies. Labour law is specifically about union workers and employers whereas employment law is wholly non-union workers and employers.  Property law is related to multiple facets of the judicial system and concerns the rights of the individual over land, objects, and expression. Tort law deal with a civil wrong that causes someone else to suffer loss or harm, that results in a legal liability and is brought up in civil law cases.

Copyright law relates to the enforceable rights to intellectual property, information, and creative and artistic content. Patent law is similar to Copyright law in that it also deals with intellectual property, except instead of focusing on creative content, patent law regulates the granting of patents for inventions. Trademark law is also fairly similar, dealing more with corporations over individual contractors.

Criminal law is the stuff you see on television –it focuses on the administration of justice and criminal trials, however it lacks the power to enact criminal laws. Criminal lawyers are the ones who make the big bucks, although it’s the criminal defense lawyers who receive the most hate for their job. Evidence law regulates the use of evidence in court. Each province has its own statue that governs the use of evidence in civil proceedings.

This post is courtesy of our partners at Used Car Richmond.

Legalization of Marijuana in Canada

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During his campaign, now-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana, and now it would appear that his plans are coming to fruition. It has officially been announced that sometime after spring 2017, Canadians will be able to purchase marijuana purely for personal enjoyment, although from where has yet to be determined. With an estimated market of around $10 billion, everybody from the existing licensed growers to public sector unions want a say in the future of the pot industry –not to mention the government officials who see a potential tax profit of $5 billion.

 Currently there are four main possibilities being considered for the distribution of recreational marijuana: online purchases through and already licensed grower, private storefronts with already existent dispensaries, provincial liquor stores, and pharmacies (although there seems to be a general distaste for this option). The general difficulty is in trying to balance the desire to maximize monetary income with the need to limit potential harm. As University of Toronto PhD student Jenna Valleriani perfectly stated, “if it is about stimulating the economy and allowing… shops to …open up storefronts, …then private sales makes sense; but if the goal is public health, then it’s the [liquor store] model”.

legalized-marijuana-in-pharmaciesAlthough there is a degree of Conservative support for stocking legalized marijuana in pharmacies, the vast majority of pharmacists would rather not place pot among their shelves as it would enforce its credibility as a medication. However, the idea of carrying and distributing marijuana through storefront dispensaries has achieved mixed results across Canada –where British Colombia has seen reasonable success, Ontario has had police raids and legal action against such stores. The police action that was taken against Ontario dispensaries could create a problem in the future if the government decides to take that route as many of the owners and sellers in these shops now possess charges for trafficking and possessing cannabis, preventing them from entering the market once it becomes active.

There is a great deal of discussion over what the legal age for marijuana will be once it is legalized. While subjects like whether or not a person will be able to grow their own are glaringly obvious (the answer is no, if you were wondering), deciding on when a person should be permitted to purchase pot is a little fuzzy. While some are arguing for 18, the same as the legal drinking age in some provinces, others argue that science has proven marijuana is more detrimental before the age of 25.

Currently, the liberal government has a nine-member task force gathering information around the potential marijuana market in Canada before the legislation has to be laid down. The task force, led by former deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, will have to report their findings no later than November. Although spring still seems like a long way off, it will be interesting to see how the facts will play out after the reports come in next month.

The Pitbull ban in Montreal

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The city of Montreal and, in fact, all of Canada is up in arms over the recent debate surrounding the new animal control bylaw which criminalizes “Pitbull-type” dogs, specifically American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers, and places a number of restrictions on the ownership of the breed within city limits, such as restricting the breeds’ adoption and forcing the dogs to be muzzled whenever they are outside the home. Those who currently own a dog that’s fits the description outlined in the bylaw will have a year to register their dog under a special category and must undergo a criminal record check if they wish to keep their canine companion.  Most recently, a temporary ban has been placed on the bylaw, which was supposed to go into effect on Monday, October 3rd, 2016, after the SPCA declared that the clauses that discuss “Pitbull-type” dogs should be considered null and illegal. They argue that the identification of a dog as being “Pitbull-type” is problematic at best, as this definition lacks specificity and could result in dogs being discriminated against based solely on their appearance regardless of their behaviors.

PittbullJustice Louis Gouin agreed with the SPCA stating that the bylaws definitions were “vague” and “imprecise”, raising numerous red flags and meriting further review before being passed. He further stated that “the city may have overstepped the limits of its jurisdiction” in the passing of this bylaw. The Mayor of Montreal, Denis Coderre, has argued in favor of this new bylaw despite heavy amounts of criticism, claiming it as a balanced approach towards canine-related attacks and stating that “a city has the right to decide on its territory how to best protect its citizens”.

Many animal rights groups across Canada have spoken up against the bylaw, which is suspended until a ruling has been passed on the SPCA’s challenge, arguing that it is not the fault of the dog breed but of the owners who mistreat and poorly train their canines.  The website www.change.org, features a petition written up by the Citizens for a Better Montreal, who plan to contact Mayor Denis Coderre once they have collected enough signatures, that is actively against the ban on “Pitbull-type” breeds. The petition has gained traction, having acquired over 400 thousand signatures in less than two weeks, and is part of a larger movement of 10 different petitions by change.org against the Pitbull ban.

While everyone waits with baited breath for the final decision, the local SPCA and animal rescue organizations have contacted shelters throughout the country, taking initiative to transport the Pitbull breeds in their care out of the city to avoid euthanization. Many of the dogs are being transported to cities like Halifax along the Trans-Canada Highway to take residence in animal shelters and foster homes until a permanent home can be found.