Harmonized provincial and federal sales tax measures included in Ontario's provincial budget will increase new home costs. To soften the blow, new homes under $400,000 would not be subject to an additional tax burden.  Resale homes would not be subject to the single sales tax, however under a harmonized sales tax (HST), home buyers and sellers will have to pay extra tax on a range of services associated with real estate transactions such as legal fees, moving costs, real estate commissions and home inspection fees. Currently, consumers only pay the 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on these services. According to the Ontario Real Estate Association this change will add about $2,000 to the cost of transacting a sale in Ontario.

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 According to this article, gone are the days an up-and-coming midlevel executive could anticipate spending a few years in London, Tokyo or Hong Kong to pick up management experience and some international savoir-faire.
 Companies have been eliminating international postings solely for career development purposes and making other cuts to curb expatriate program costs for the better part of a decade, but the economy's free fall pushed changes into overdrive, say corporate HR executives and expat program management consultants.
 

  Ajit Someshwar, CEO of Toronto-based technology and staffing firm CSI Consulting Inc., is a member of a high-profile economic advisory committee that's advising Flaherty on ways to offset the global recession.
 But Someshwar also wants the immigration ministry to help Canada capitalize on its ties with his native India and open our doors to more professionals. "We have several instances of doctors driving cabs - or ultimately going back," says Someshwar. "We can line up - from one end of the street to the other - people who are working way below what they're supposed to be doing."

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A recent global survey by Kelly Services has identified a startling symmetry in terms of what workers want from life, with the long-term goal of many being to do something more fulfilling, even if that means accepting a cut in pay.

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