On Monday at around 3 p.m., I walked by H & R Block Tax Services on Main St. near Carnegie and there was a crowd of people outside. A woman waiting in the crowd was loudly explaining that H & R Block wasn't taking any more people that day, that they had given out tickets but they had stopped at 165.
That's when I knew that the T-4's had come out.
"Nobody gets you money faster, instant cash back", blares a sign in the window of H & R Block. If you take in your T-4 slip, H & R Block will do your taxes and give you the refund right away, but they skim a little off the top.
I was surprised that so many people were in need of quick cash. Welfare day was just last Wednesday.
3 comments:
You know, there are free tax clinics put on by various accounting firms. However, they don't offer instant cash back, but they don't skim either. Do people need money that bad that they are willing to give up a little to grab it right away? Is this money for drugs, rent, food, or what?
welfare day was just last wednesday, and we need quick cash... like duh!
it may surprise you but a cheque doesn't last more than a few days.
good question from anonymous, where does the money go?
think about it
Anonymous,
You write,
"like duh! it may surprise you but a cheque doesn't last more than a few days."
It depends on who has the cheque. Bloggers at the DTES Enquirer know numerous people on the Downtown Eastside who are on welfare and their cheques are not gone in a few days.
I would say it's almost impossible to make a cheque last the month though, if you're on the bottom rung of the welfare ladder -- i.e. you're getting the lowest rate because you haven't gotten a doctor to fill out a "multiple barriers to employment" form -- and don't have sudsidized housing.
I know a guy who is in that position and his welfare cheque is gone already. But he told me he was buying beer for a friend and that it's easy to spend $60 a night at the bar. He only went to the bar once or twice after welfare day, but he's responsible for the fact that he's now broke. Nobody made him buy beer....or cigarettes.
I'm not over generalizing though, and saying that everybody on welfare drinks their cheque; I do know many people on welfare who don't and are quite frugal. I'm saying that people on welfare, like people in the workforce, have different styles of handling money and it's not accurate to suggest that nobody can make a welfare cheque last more than a few days.
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