472 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

The Uber question is one where I think we'll see a few court cases before things are completely settled. There are so many different scenarios, from the guy whose only job, 50 hours per week, is to drive people around using Uber to somebody else who does maybe 4 or 5 Uber rides a month to the airport just for a little bit of extra money.

 

And what about the guy that takes the car owner to work, when he drops his car off for service at the shop, at the beginning of the day.  Is he now taking a cab's job?  Hotel shuttle buses?

[spanky123]

Yes, the CRA cares deeply. Being self-employed or operating as a corporation can have / usually has significant tax advantages versus working as an employee.

 

 If you are operating as a self-employed sole proprietor, you can deduct certain allowable business expenses which reduces your taxable income. There are almost no deductions for employees. If you are operating as a corporation, your tax rate will be much lower than employment income taxes, and of course you only pay taxes on your taxable income, after deducting expenses. Self-employed persons and of course corporations can also claim GST/HST input tax credits. Also, if you are self-employed, you may need to charge and remit GST.

 

Employees pay tax on all income above the basic personal exemption (11 G’s or so).

 

Not only that but there is generally no payment into CPP, EI or WCB by contractors or their employers.

[jonny]

IIRC, self-employed persons need to pay the employer and employee portions of CPP.

[spanky123]

IIRC, self-employed persons need to pay the employer and employee portions of CPP.

 

And everyone does that!

[Nparker]

I am sure we have an Uber thread, but I couldn't find it. In any case, here's some news (that likely won't surprise anyone 2 months before an election)

Minister of Transportation Todd Stone along with Minister Responsible for Translink Peter Fassbender announced today in Vancouver that ride-sharing is now legal in British Columbia. This allows ride sharing applications such as Uber and Lyft to operate as an alternative to cab companies...The stipulation to this announcement is that the Liberal government must be re-elected to ensure that ride-sharing will come to the province.

http://www.cheknews....columbia-285509/

Edited by Nparker, 07 March 2017 - 11:35 AM.

[jonny]

Only what, two years late?

[LeoVictoria]

There should be a stipulation that the company needs to be profitable to get a license to operate.    Uber lost $2.8 billion dollars last year.   Not exactly fair for them to compete with companies that don't have billions of other people's money to burn through.   I'm all for innovation, but Uber is about as unethical of a company as they come.   

Edited by LeoVictoria, 07 March 2017 - 12:06 PM.

[shoeflack]

There should be a stipulation that the company needs to be profitable to get a license to operate.    Uber lost $2.8 billion dollars last year.   Not exactly fair for them to compete with companies that don't have billions of other people's money to burn through.   I'm all for innovation, but Uber is about as unethical of a company as they come.   

 

This would pretty much kill and new innovation/new business ideas though. Most new businesses are not immediately profitable.

[LeoVictoria]

This would pretty much kill and new innovation/new business ideas though. Most new businesses are not immediately profitable.

Sure, but still Uber is essentially a scam. Drivers earn starvation wages, the company bleeds money, and it puts taxi drivers out of business. Not sure what the solution is, likely to be a moot point since autonomous cars will shortly make both businesses obsolete

[jonny]

There should be a stipulation that the company needs to be profitable to get a license to operate.    Uber lost $2.8 billion dollars last year.   Not exactly fair for them to compete with companies that don't have billions of other people's money to burn through.   I'm all for innovation, but Uber is about as unethical of a company as they come.   

 

This sounds like quite the nanny state...should the state should shut down coffee shops and bakeries that aren't currently turning a profit?

[rjag]

Not sure about a scam, been very pleased with my experiences

 

Competition is healthy, monopolies arent. Just look at the maple syrup cartel. Here we have a taxi cartel thats pi$$ed because theres a new kid on the block that can do it for less.

 

I've used Uber in a few cities in the US and taxis as well. The taxi drivers I've spoken with arent fussed as they maintained the rights to airport pickup, stands outside of major hotels, train stations etc. The uber cars I've used were way cleaner and better maintained than some of the cabs Ive been in. They rely on a rating system which forces them to keep their game up, cant say the same about cabs.

 

Anyway, not sure why leo is getting his knickers in a knot, as he says, its an industry about to disappear

Edited by rjag, 07 March 2017 - 04:17 PM.

[rjag]

This sounds like quite the nanny state...should the state should shut down coffee shops and bakeries that aren't currently turning a profit?

perhaps teh state can control the number of coffee shops to ensure they are profitable, also maybe assign every citizen a ration book so that they dont overspend in one shop and have to use multiple in case one is better than the other....cant have a business do better than another business thats like white privilege...

[rjag]

just listening to cknw and geogg meggs was expressing his outrage blah blah blah....then all the callers just dissing him about how out of touch he is and where was his concern about local bike shops when Vancouver was bringing in the bike rental program.

 

Other comments, this is like blockbuster and netflix, yellow pages and google etc.

 

Seems like not many folks are too happy at the government giving the taxi cartel 1 cent in subsidy, they should stand on their own, adapt or die......Darwinism at its best...

[VicHockeyFan]

Sure, but still Uber is essentially a scam. Drivers earn starvation wages, the company bleeds money, and it puts taxi drivers out of business. Not sure what the solution is, likely to be a moot point since autonomous cars will shortly make both businesses obsolete

 

You know what's a scam?  People that ask their friends to pick them up at the ferry/airport.  That's how the vast majority of passengers without cars move to and away from those transport terminals.  I've NEVER paid my driver even a starvation wage to come get me or drop me off, in fact they have covered all the expense.  And I never worried about what might happen insurance/liability-wise if we got in an accident.  We have never been in one for my almost 50 years of existence.

 

Now, if a stranger with an Uber license, valid drivers license, insurance coverage and the app wants to come and get me and drive me home, at a rate of pay she knows well in advance, why should I, you, or the government care?

[spanky123]

Well i guess that according to Mayor Helps' and Robertsons' logic on pot shops being able to open since the Government is talking about regulating them, Uber and Lyft should immediately be allowed to open up shop here and in Vancouver!

 

It is very interesting that the NDP is siding with the cabbies here. The East Indian bloc brings an enormous amount of money and votes to the Liberal party in about a dozen ridings so the NDP must feel that they are close enough that this might swing the balance in their favour come election time.

[VicHockeyFan]

It is very interesting that the NDP is siding with the cabbies here. The East Indian bloc brings an enormous amount of money and votes to the Liberal party in about a dozen ridings so the NDP must feel that they are close enough that this might swing the balance in their favour come election time.

 

Indeed.  

 

Yes, the Liberals probably carefully calculated this through lots though.

[LeoVictoria]

This sounds like quite the nanny state...should the state should shut down coffee shops and bakeries that aren't currently turning a profit?

Ever heard of price dumping? Look it up.

[http]

Not sure about a scam, been very pleased with my experiences

 

Competition is healthy, monopolies arent. Just look at the maple syrup cartel. Here we have a taxi cartel thats pi$$ed because theres a new kid on the block that can do it for less.

[ snip ]

Anyway, not sure why leo is getting his knickers in a knot, as he says, its an industry about to disappear

 

 

[ snip ] Now, if a stranger with an Uber license, valid drivers license, insurance coverage and the app wants to come and get me and drive me home, at a rate of pay she knows well in advance, why should I, you, or the government care?

 

Sure, the taxi industry is likely to disappear. But in the meantime, Uber is absolutely anti freemarket. Its probable end game is to destroy the ability of anyone else to effectively enter the marketplace of what may replace it: https://medium.com/h...ic-8bd386e3d382

 

"These pseudo-market patterns also mask patterns of subsidy, like the fact that Uber’s current operations are subsidized by investors to the tune of $2 billion per year. That’s a cost that will be immediately passed along to consumers as soon as Uber succeeds in displacing conventional taxis."

 

Or this gem,

 

"But unlike competitive sellers on eBay, Uber drivers can’t set their prices. In fact, prices can be (and regularly have been) changed unilaterally by Uber."

 

VHF, you should care because imagine me setting the price on your work... actually, dont. I don't want you to have nightmares. I'm sorry.

[VicHockeyFan]

http, I'd be happy if a car - or a guy on a skateboard - pulled up outside the bar and flashed a I'll take you home for $10 sign.  Seems we have regulated the hell out of transportation for no real reason, other than because "we can".

[jonny]

Ever heard of price dumping? Look it up.

It's not predatory pricing simply because taxi fares are exorbitantly priced and Uber prices are substantially lower. That's called competition, which we absolutely don't have with taxi cartels.

Do you ever take taxis? The cost is crazy.