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somehow, I'm not surprised!

Hello,  I agree simple is always best.  Have a great day.

Here in the US I think its a little different - at least for me it is.  Since I work from home doing grant research, I work for myself - meaning there is no "boss" to pay me because I am my own boss.  Since my business is just myself I operate it as a sole proprietorship and while there are expenses that I can deduct the fact still remains that there is a self-employment tax that's not automatically deducted from my income.  I have to deduct it myself by paying it quarterly.

I'm sure that if my business were more complicated then my tax structure would be more complicated so I try to keep my business as simple as possible.

Yes you could be right.  I know we are allowed to make 10000 before we get taxed on it.  I mean employer still takes taxes off but you would end up getting a refund.  I was self employed myself at one time.  It was in the trucking industry.  It was a corporation.  There you get file for Ontario tax and Revenue Canada tax.  Then you do a personal income tax.  Here on items when go shopping on some items we are charged 5% GSt and 8% pst and sometimes both.

Well its a little different for me.  Since I work from home and am self-employed I have to pay self-employment tax.  Since I work for myself it doesn't automatically get taken out - I have to do that - so unless I over-pay my self-employment tax I usually do not get a refund.

Also like you we also here in the states get that information sheet telling us how much money will get monthly when we retire. 

Actually (now that I think about it) paying $179 on $18K gross - seems like you are paying a lot LESS in taxes than we here in the states!

That is interesting to know.  When I was working and did my taxes I owe the government 179.00.  I grossed 18,000 last year before taxes was taken off.  Off paychecks we get federal income tax taken off and employment insurance and last but not least canada pension plan.  On my pension plan the government sent me a statement and said if I continue to make what I am now by the time I am 65 I could get 47.00 a month.  So I guess retirement is out for me.  Unless I start investing in an rrsp.

The way I see it the rich just have alot more debt.  money wise I mean.

It seems that the President's (and other public officials') salaries are supposed to be public information but I don't think I remember former President Bush's salary ever being mentioned.  But as far as the presidential salary goes here is an excerpt:

"The president earns a $400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 non-taxable travel account and $19,000 for entertainment. The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001."

I really don't think that it is as simple as that.  Just because your income is $5 Million dollars doesn't mean that you actually have $5 million dollars in cash - to spend.  Maybe I didn't mention it in my original post but he did have to pay over $1 million dollars in taxes so that takes out a million dollars right there.  Even with (estimated) $4 million dollars left that doesn't mean that it is all in cash and is readily spendable.

Yes that is pretty good advice.  After reading your post I tried to find out how much our prime minister and premier makes but I could not find it anywhere.  I guess we are not suppose to know that.  I know that one of our member of parlament made 80 thousand a year.  He retired with a good pension.  Before he became a member of parlament he was a divorce lawyer.

Well we are talking about his personal income and his tax returns say that he and his wife contribute to charities - in fact the President won a Nobel Peace Prize and donated that money to charity.

And in all fairness we really shouldn't be telling other people what they should be doing with their own money - something I have heard Oprah say more than once!

Basically the President made the bulk of his income from book sales.  Actually I looked up information about one of his books and it's called "The Audacity Of Hope" - meaning that when you have only a little to hope with you still have the hope - which sounds like a pretty good piece of advice to me.

I wonder what he is doing with it all as he sure isn't helping anyone with all that cash is he???

wow thats alot.  Our government don't make that much.