Tangram

No I didn't say it, as you can see there is a ? mark at the end of the sentence. This implies that I am asking a question, not stating a fact that I feel has been stated by someone else i.e. yourself. So just to clear that one up, I was asking a question not stating anything of the sort.

Cheers Cowtown.

Paul.

dbd

That's not what I suggested at all. A T4 is a form issued to people paid a wage or a salary; permanent employees. There are lots of other types of workers, for example, self-employed contractors, business owners and those who live on royalties. Everyone is better off than the person on a T4.

Blimey, there's a lot of dim witted literalists here. "Don't allow" was rather arch but the point is that a spouse (of any sex) is, from a tax standpoint, more valuable at home than in the work place. A couple of spouses is even better.

I'm not sure what you think is bonkers about that, we have several cars and write off one as a business expense rather than attempting to apportion the usage of each of them between business and other.


My point there was that one has little scope to convert tax money into cash in pocket (there are schemes to do that but you need to have a huge tax liability before they pay, it may be worth $50,000/yr to reduce tax from $200,000/yr to $100,000/yr but it's obviously not worth doing if your income is only $50,000). Instead one can convert the tax dollars into goods and services suited to one's lifestyle. This only works, of course, if one values the sorts of things one can write off.

HoHo! Legal and accounting fees to reach the point of two lawyers being ready to discuss our case will be about $80,000. The major reason why I have lived apart from my spouse for fifteen years without divorcing is that I can't pay over $100,000 in fees without one or the other of us losing our house.


A closer reading of my post would show you that I have not chosen that course. I'm shelling out about $25,000/yr in tuition and related fees just like everyone else who has a couple of kids of college age. Nonetheless, that is a tax minimisation strategy I know people follow.

These are some ideas to reduce the direct tax burden legally. Most of them I've stumbled upon by accident; no one in his or her right mind would collect spouses, deductible or not. Getting paid in cash and not declaring it reduces the tax rate by a greater amount but has the snag that eventually it'll result in jail.

Cowtown

The question mark didnt help me - I assumed it was a rhetorical question where you had already made the judgement!

Tangram

That's ok mate, no worries, it was a genuine question.

Cowtown

Lets go back then - no I didnt say it - but you can if you want to!

Tangram

Sorry it's Friday afternoon, I don't have to energy to rattle sabres with anyone at this point.

Biiiiink

HSBC are a British bank. Hard to believe given the name, but true.

dbd

Oh, I suppose the name is a relic of Empire. Shame, it all fitted together so neatly.

Biiiiink

Indeed, founded by a Scot I think...the logo is supposed to be a representation of the St Andrews cross. Depends how drunk and colourblind you are I suppose

SANDRAPAUL

HSBC is formally Midland Bank. Renamed I guess to give it a more multi-cultural feel. I am only guessing on the latter. And yes and no to the question is HSBC 'China'.

Yes it puts a lot of investment into China that should be UK bound. But no China is not ruled by HSBC. Joint effort to sell cheap bras in the Midlands, makes more money for HSBC which means more investment in China, Asia, India, etc etc. Why not....labour is after all cheap.

dbd

I'd guess that HSBC bought out Midland but, no matter, that's two posts mentioning bras on one thread, SANDRAPAUL. Bras seem to me to be vastly more interesting than banks, where are you on the Ipex ? Would you concur that the engineering is a step backwards from the Miracle ?

iaink

HSBC is in fact an asian organisation. It took over the Midland sometime in the early 90s. HSBC although founded by a Scot, was initially established in Hong Kong and then in Shanghai shortly afterwards as the name suggests. But anyway...lets get back to those Bras!

Biiiiink

No, HSBC is British. Don't confuse their acquisition of Midland with anything.

Wikipedia explains things more succinctly than HSBC's own website, which has about 20 billion different sections on their history. That's one section for every penny they charged me in student overdraft fees

SANDRAPAUL

Knickers!

iaink

From the Wiki article...

"1865 - The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is established in Shanghai to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. It is incorporated in Hong Kong by special dispensation from the British Treasury under the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Ordinance 1866."

"Before moving the headquarters to London in 1991, it was headquartered in Hong Kong."

"70% of its earnings come from outside the UK. Nearly 40% of its earnings is from operations in Hong Kong"

It may now be British, but if you were a bank headquartered in HK in the run up to the Chinese handover, I think you might consider moving to a more stable neighbourhood too. HSBCs history is all rooted in the far east, its "british" in name only.