Sma RTRrSRNRRAUIMNNTT oN ANCE ES Le TRATION Dy RTS BN AMIN SA ETT Be BS RET ORES OAD UR Ld PE MIKE GRENBY’S MONEY TOON WE DID SUCH A GOOD joB SPLITTING OUR INCOME TO 4 SANE TAX ! EQUAL PARTNERS! SPUT ALL YOU Like ! 1 GO AFTER FABAILY INcome/! Feds looking to claw back more Mike sion clawback is tearing ‘ you — and your finances — part, you should start: _ Screaming: now or the pain will only increase.’ o Many ‘couples who count on OAS are confused about a report’: » that Ottawa plans to base the claw- - back on family income. At present, “; you start to lose the OAS only if / your own net income exceeds $53,215. In my budget analysis, 1 ‘warned that the federal government > Wants to bese the clawback thresh- old on joint income. That means a- ‘ouple with $30,000 income each - ill lose as much of the OAS as a” ingle person with $60, 000 if the PE loca NORTH . VANCOUVER . ‘CUPE members: ratified a long-awaited. deal Sunday, but that does not mean members are happy with the: pro- ° posed contract, said Local 389 pres- ident Mike Hocevai. "By fan Noble ews Reporter _ “About “300 Local 389 members without a contract since Dec. 31, 1993, voted on the pact. Eighty per- cent approved it. The Canadian Union of Public :: Employees ‘represents: about . 800 8,000 workers in “Mainland-wide dispute with the present threshold remains the same. “But the tax guide still lists this as an individual ceiling and the local tax office says there is no . “change,” said reader T. A. so Dodgshon. Yes, the existing clawback rules stay in place for the 1994 tax year and probably 1995. But watch out in, 1996 — unless you can get Ottawa to change its mind. : The budget plan states the “basic “principles for reforming OAS” will include “the provision of OAS ben- - efits on the basis of family income, as is currently the case with the. - Guaranteed Income Supplement.” That would really affect a cou- ple who had managed to split income to minimize tax. An exam- “ple: co * NOW: With about $30,000 income each, each partner would be in the lowest tax bracket rather than perhaps having one partner, with income around $60,000, heading for the highest tax bracket. The couple would also escape the OAS . clawback and minimize loss of the age amount. : ¢ PROPOSED: If the budget. “proposal to base the clawback on family income becomes law, this - couple could lose part of the OAS pension and also more of the age exemption. So far, Ottawa has said starting in tly 1996 people subject to the North Shore municipal workers and the Lower Greater © Vancouver District. ‘Hocevar said employees ‘are Regional ‘ happy’ they beat back’ concessions employers wanted, but more than 16 months of “ugly” negotiations ieft a bad taste in members’ mouths. “Morale drops anytime bargain- ing gets ugly like that,” he said. The agreement calls for a three- “year contract with increases of 0% -in 1994, 1.5% in 1995, and 1.5% in | 1996, Hocevar said. , Vacation benefits: and. benefit ‘approves pact * deal April $0. pan tS SADE TAMA MOTTO AE SGI RAN AALS BTN ARES aE | PERSONAL INJURY | Free Initial Consultation Douglas W. Lahay CLARK, WILSON BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS 800-885 West Georgia Street, Van. 687-5700 24 HOUR MESSAGE 643-3161 B AICBC's policies are not law. d will get B you a fair settlement or trial award. | €OMPUTER LONSIGN ENT of your pension clawback will get sinaller or no OAS cheques, (At present, these - people get the money during the year and then pay back some or all of it when they file their returns the following spring.) If the new OAS clawback pro- posal becomes law, might other seniors’ benefits be similarly “means-tested?” And might even tax brackets be based on family income? In its budget, Ottawa did invite - input from taxpayers. It also promised a study paper later this | year on Canada’s pension system, and added: “Consultations with seniors, and with Canadians gener- ally, on the precise nature of needed changes will take place when the. ” paper is released.” Ottawa wants to cut expenses and increase income (translation: indirectly raise taxes), And it wants -a fairer tax system. A single taxpay- er with $60,000 income has no opportunity to escape the clawback or split income to save tax. So Ottawa might well ask why a cou- ple should get those breaks. Mike Grenby is a North Shore-’ based coliennist and independent financial adviser who works with. . individuals; he will answer your." questions in this column as space allows — write to him clo 2444 Haywood Avenue, West Vancouver, ‘B.CLV7V IYI. Bring In your old computer for consignment - No appointment necessary, Shop early for best - selection! PC. GALORE CONSIGNMENT ID. WW VANCOUVER’S FINEST COMPUTER CONSIGNMENT STORE ae 7 129 Lonsdale Ave. 2788 Wi. Sth Ave. $90-G547 32-7816 Ron. to Thurs. 10 - 6; Fri. 10 - 3; Sat. 10 ~ "SEARS OF ae 65 Depending on your age, you could'receive’ from 10.5% to 14.2% monthly pay for life,’ ‘with ¢ an AA+ Rated Back-To- Back Insured Annuity.” : Compare that to an 8.25% 5-Year GIC!: For More Information, Please Call: : Kevin Konar. or Trevor. Bromley at 981-6600 ‘RBC DS”. FINANCIAL __- “SERVICES. INC. Suite 201 - - 250 15th St, West Van ~ *Rates Are For Investors In The 54% Marginal Tax Bracket. - ; Rates Subject To ° Chane Without Notice. ° “ cost-sharing also improved slightly... under the -“lean-and-mean” “agrec- ment, he said. A signing bonus the union had hoped for did not materialize in the final memorandum of agreement, | said Hocevar.. Other locals and employers must still ratify the pact. North Vancouver District council approved the pact “April 3 and North Vancouver City , council is expected to approve the & If any. local rejects the pact, a strike could result, Hocevar said. But he added: “1 don’t anticipate it will be rejected by either party.” aS ot)