I ain't yo brother

[the_siobhan]

Apparently Toronto is considering a tax on billboards. I only know this because on my way to work this morning, I passed a billboard that somebody had rented in order to display the simple black-on-white text, "The Billboard Tax. Another Tax We Can't Afford."

My immediate and only reaction to the ad was, "Who the hell is we?"

Comments

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I will direct your attention to my billboard which outlines who we are.
In the most passive-aggressive way possible.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I actually did some googling:
http://laforet.ca/2009/11/30/the-citys-billboard-tax-yet-another-tax-we-cant-afford-who-is-this-we-they-speak-of/

http://citybillboardtax.ca/omac/home/index.asp

I am more amused by the fact 'we' is the project of OMAC.
(Comics nerds may get that).

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

*snork*

"Ladies and Gentlemen – little violins are in order"

[miss-bontemps.livejournal.com]

agreed. *rubs thumbs and index fingers together*

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

Well I can't get by without my billboard, I'll have to sell one of the children to pay for it.

[otheronetruegod.livejournal.com]

I heard them talking about this on the radio yesterday. Aparrently the proposed tax is so high that billboard companies would go out of business.

I don't know of a business I care less about, in fact, I kind of want them to go out of business, because fewer billboards is only a good thing.

I'm pretty sure they won't get the public on their side. :-)

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

So billboard companies are little local things that only do billboards in one (admittedly large) city? As opposed to being large advertising media conglomerates that also hand adverts for transit, bathroom stalls, airports, and do so on a provincial or national scale? Plus, there's no tax without some kind of loophole. If it's a flat tax for advertising period, well, that just becomes part of the cost of advertising to Toronto, and fallow signs don't cost much. If it's a flat fee per year, then it's just part of the cost of advertising, except when the sign is fallow, and then it shows something for the local cat shelter, and the tax for the fallow time becomes part of the donation and THAT becomes a tax-deduction elsewhere. If it's a tax on a rate charged, then it becomes "well, we don't sell Toronto specifically. In fact we don't sell it above costs. It's allocated according to a schedule of Ontario-wide services with larger customers getting first selection of time and location."

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

You'd think it never occurred to them to pass the additional cost on to their customers!