I can hardly believe it. Here I am, the last person in the world to know anything about social media. I am guided step-by-step in this process of providing little tales about my experiences and, low and behold, I have already offended the internet gods! Facebook has found last week’s blog offensive enough to deserve its censure. Well, at least their new regulations require me to prove that I am who I claim to be before I can use any paid advertising. (See explanation note below.)
As it happens, on the very day you may have read my last blog, I was reading a US newsletter, Pymnts.com, that described a decision by a South Dakota court that individual US states could assess taxes on the very online sales companies that Canada is planning to tax. So does Facebook feel my blog should not be promoted beyond its current modest readership?
So does Prime Minister Trudeau intend to honour his election promise and join the US so Canada can also tax these freeloaders? Politics can create strange bedfellows but Americans need to elect better presidents before we will throw in the towel on that matter. Besides where would the US find a state among its 52 states, that is more docile than Canada?
Kidding aside, it is really an affront to our intelligence for those companies to think they should be allowed to operate tax free in any country they choose to do so. Maybe we should revisit that Trans Border Data Flow issue again.
With Cyber Monday coming up and consumer online sales expected increase over 400% from any other Monday, its good to think about how this economy is taking advantage of our country’s slack tax laws. This year it might even be a bit worse as the exchange rate favouring Canadian retailers so we should be the ones to attract more American business.
If you are thinking about shopping online for Cyber Monday or online shopping at anytime please also see Online Safety Tips written by Telpay IT Systems Manager Jack Slawik: https://blog.telpay.ca/online-safety-tips/
NOTE:
According to Facebook:
“Ads about social issues, elections or politics that appear on Facebook or Instagram should include a disclaimer provided by advertisers that shows the name of the person or entity that paid for the ad. This is a list of top-level issues that will be considered in determining which ads targeting Canada require authorization and disclaimers: civil and social rights, economy, environmental politics, health, immigration, political values and governance, security and foreign policy.”
Disclaimer: So to make it clear, I, W.H. (Bill) Loewen through my company Telpay, am paying for this Facebook account and any ads that appear here.
“On Innovation” is a corporate blog by W. H. (Bill) Loewen, founder, Comcheq Payroll Services and Telpay Bill Payment Services, exploring the impact of current innovations in the financial services industry and reflections from his past 50 years of business experience. In his spare time, Bill likes to spend time with family and friends, play bridge, dabble with woodworking and is a passionate classical music lover.