AS TAXES and higher prices ext into Canadian incomes, more and more people are finding it necessary to

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

protect their savings. Obtaining the right financial advice cam save you dollars and cut down on heartaches.

Reduce tax payments

From page 46

¢If you have compound Canada
Savings Bonds or compound term
deposits/savings certificates of
more than three years, you must
decide whether to declare your in-
terest annually or every three years
— even though you don’t actually
receive the money.

In general, defer the tax to the
third year — as long as that won’t
put you into a higher tax bracket.
© Claim all reasonable expenses if
you have any self-employed in-
come. Provided you have a ‘“‘rea-
sonable expectation of profit,’’
you may use a loss (produced by
an excess of expenses over income)
to reduce other (employment, pen-
sion, investment, etc.) income and
so reduce tax. Special restrictions
apply to farming losses.
© If a person doesn’t need to claim
all of the transferable tax credits to
reduce tax to zero, they may be
transferred to a spouse or in some
cases, another supporting individ-

ual,

What about olanning for 19897
“Again,” said the CGA, “a tax
planning strategy is a very individ-
ual thing. Our Strategic Tax Plan-
ning booklet will give you many
ideas to help you reduce your tax
bill for this year."’

Topics covered include employ-
ment income and benefits, income
from a business and self-employ-
ment, business and self-employ-
ment expenses, investment income
and expenses (including the new
cumulative net investment loss —
CNIL ~~ mule), income-splitting,
tox shelter investments, deferred
income plans, personal deductions,
deductions converted to credits
and tax planning with the alter-
native minimum tax (AMT) and
wills.

“Sometimes you can save an ab-
solute amount of tax — by split-
ting income with somebody in a
lower tax bracket, for example —
and scometimes you can defer
taxes,"” said the CGA.

‘“‘Many people could pay con-
siderably less tax if they only spent
a little more time and effort plann-
ing their finances.’

“It can often pay to get profes-
sional advice: a one-time expense
could produce tax-savings that
continue year after year.”*

This article was prepared by the

Certified General Accountants
Association of British Columbia,
the province’s largest profesional
accounting body. For further in-

formation the association can be
reached at 1555 West 8th Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C., V6J 1T5, or by
phoning 732-1211.

*PRIME RATE

R.R.S.P

LOANS

(FIXED OR VARIABLE RATES)

SEE YOU JAN. 16th AT THE
FINANCIAL NEWS SEmiNAR
. ASK ABOUT GREEN LINE

DIRECT TRADING & GREEN
LINE INVESTOR SERVICES!

TORONTO DORINION

the bank where pecple make the difference

* minimum $1,000 contribution

» 960.6021.

980-1885

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986-4304

to turn $120
into $200
every month.

While many RRSP’s claim they can eventually make
you a millionaire, few address the immediate benefits
of short-term savings. PROACT does both. Unlike old-
fashioned RRSP’s which allow you to contribute only
after your paycheque has been subjected to income
tax deductions, PROACT lets you make your KRSP con-
tribution first. Your immediate benefits are threefold:
reduced taxes, increased paycheques and an RRSP
that starts growing faster, sooner. To learn more
about how smaller payments can make for bigger
RRSP’s, look into PRCACT — the greatest innovation
since the paycheque. For your appointment, please
call:

Jon Cook Bob Lewis
Metropolitan Trust
#102, 403 North Rd., Coquitiam, B.C.
937-3451
526-1851

$)3 Metropolitan Trust

Treasury Bills
from Wood Gundy,
Convenience and Safety,
11.50% *

one year T- BILLS

90. DAY T- BILLS’
RESP and RRIF ELIGIBLE

Phone the investment professionali
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at

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