9 Reader's Viewpoint Farmers not country bum Dear Sir: - The letter from Gord Bur- - nett (Welfare for Crying Farmers, March 17) was full of very misleading half- truths, at a time when rural- urban relationships need to be strengthened. Farmers certainly do not appreciate the image im- plied in the term "country bumpkin'. Most viable farms today require a capital outlay of upwards of a quarter million dollars... an investment which an un- educated "'bumpkin" would be ill-equipped to manage. Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan has point out many times that sub- - sidies to agriculture are lower in Canada than in almost any other country, and that agriculture pro- ductivity in Canada in recent years, and in past years, has increased at a higher rate than that of industry in general. pay a lower portion of théir incomes for food now than in previous-years-(19 per cent in 1975, down from 25 per _ cent in the early 1960s). Burnett states that 65 per cent of farmers have off- farm income to a maximum of $4000 to $5000: Burnett's interpretation of restricted farm losses is inaccurate, té say the least. A part-time farmer may declare a loss "only if his farm shows a probability of becoming pro- fitable in the future. \In that case, farm losses to a max- imum of $5000 may be de- ducted from non-farm income, "As a result, the tax paid on that loss is rebated to the farmer. The farm property tax rebate was instituted to compensate farmers for the increased burden of educat- ion taxes on their land, excluding the farm home. In order to qualify for the rebate the farm must pro- duce income of at least $2000. Since education is a service to people rather than "Sell their products at a 1 AS a result Canadian consumers LOUIS J. DEKOKER AND SON. LTD. - ABATTOIR - property, perhaps it would be fairer to all for.education revenues to come entirely from income taxes rather than partially from property taxes. : ' Governments 'become in- volved in subsidy programs in response to commodity shortages and resultant high . consumer prices. Often pro- duction is stimulated to the point where surpluses exist, and farmers are oblig Such was true regarding the voluntary beef cowlcalf stabilization program. Bur- nett states that many farm- ~ers received over $30,000 of taxpayers money free. In order to do so, at $72.19 rz cow, a farmer would need a herd of 415 cows. The average number of cows per herd in the program was 26. This money received is tax- able. Burnett implies that farmers receive a grant of 40 per cent of the cost, to a maximum of $3000, of each and every capital structure (barn, silo, etc.). In reality, ] no farmer could receive more than $3000 through the Capital Grant Program, no matter how many capital structures he built at what- ever cost. The grant received is deducted from the cost of the item in depre- - ciating it for taxation pur- poses. Burnett says that Q.H.L.P. - is paid from the public purse for 80 per cent of all farm- ers. In order to qualify for this form of: assistance, a person (anyone - not just a farmer) must have no tax- able income. ' Burnett speaks of "inheri- tance taxes'; of these I have not heard. Perhaps he is referring to estate taxes and succession-duties. With very careful planning, many years in advance of a trans- fer, a farm, may be passed from father to son incurring relatively small taxes. However, many young farmers have been compell- ed to sell their farms and leave the occupation in order to pay succession duties and estate taxes on the death of the father, Granted, estate taxes were abolished recently, but these have been replaced by a capital gains tax. Capital gains taxes must be paid when the farm is sold to a ~person outside the family. Most Canadian farmers would rather. receive their income from the market place than from government aid; however, higher con- sumer prices would result in a politically uncomfortable situation, Thus govern- ments become involved in subsidy programs to main- tain low consumer prices. If Canada is to continue to supply her population with food, -agriculture must be able to attract young, intell- igent people. ' Yours truly, E. L. McLaughlin, \ Nestleton, Ontario. Prefinished Nitmeg pkins Dear Editor: I respectfully acknow- ledge Mr. D. J. Kelly's articles concerning "Reader Complaints of Bank Rip- Offs'. However, we should for a second consider the Bank's position in these matters. Take for example the Bowmanville igh School teacher's complaint. This is a very common oc-_ currence in my relatively little time in the bank. When he showed an over- draft on January 24th of $5.32, this in reality was all the. work processed up until January 23rd. Even though he deposited on the 24th (after 3:00 or not) he was indeed in overdraft for one day. This overdraft in real- ity constitutes a fraud. If this individual (or any indi- vidual) would rather not pay the minimum interest charge and would rather go to jail for a year or two then that is his perogative. I.feel most people would rather pay the minimum charge and retain their safety. 1 Buckskin Brown Prefinished Masonite \ Lamina Pecan - \\\ Cape Cod 4s have seen cases where this is considered only on an occasional overdraft or an oversight on the part of the customer. However, when this oversight sometimes tends to build to $50 - $100 or even higher then what hap- pens.. This minimum charge is designed to protect the bank as well as the customer. The 3 p.m. closing of entries for a day is also an often heard complaint. Every other day of the week the bank closes dt 3 p.m. Why should Friday be any different? The bank also has its work to do. If the bank relin- quished this practise of clos- ing off the day's work at 3 p.m., then the employees would be there working half the night just to clear up the days work. This would result in high overtime, higher overtime pay and the only way to recoup this -would bé to revise service charges, minimum over- draft charges, etc. Think of the complaints then!!!! The teacher also com- 6.95 Net 5.95 Net 6.95 4750 net R.R. 2, Lindsay, Ont. -- (705) 324-5794 'Specializing in Custom Killing o Beef Killed *8.00 o Cutting & Wrapping 10°.Ib. "eo Quick Freezing (available at 02° Ib. extra) o Government Inspected Beef Slaughtered 2 Josh Friday"s Pork 0 nesday hy Anpojntment Only SAV SUBMIT THIS COUPON AND SAVE $4" ON THE SLAUGHTER OF ONE BEEF. Offer good until April 30, 1976. Shady Elm axs 8.75 COLORED 8' VINYL MOULDS NAILS CAPS - BUT JOINTS - ¢ INSIDE & OUTSIDE 1.40 CORNERS. - CEILING TILE - 22 . 33 sq. ft. FIRE - KY 8 oF each -LOGS 50° oor VY 3 TER 235 WATER ST. - 985.739 ~ PORT PLRRY i 1 Hl : | AT 4 : PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, Mar. 24, 1976 -- 7 : a isd [] PR Consider bank's position X 3 plains of interest charges one way (taken off) but not given for a credit balance. The' teacher seems to be ill informed of the services offered by the bank. If he wants to earn interest while writing checks then there is an account designed just for him, . The bank in question is not the bank I am employed by. However, these problems "are'common to the banking profession. Considering 11€ above, perhaps peogle should be more considerate of the banking profession and the services offered just to suit the customers every whim and fancy. Yours truly, Ted Hall, Bank of Montreal, Holton Ave. Branch, Hamilton, Ontario. EDITOR'S NOTE: Mr. Kelly has gone on vacation for the next few weeks, but upon his return will reply to the letters of Ted Hall and Bill English. "Ag a" so \ o le % 4 ' % hn ARS a NC . SEN LY i a / CNY AN 5 \ 3 et R 4 . LJ