Seek professional advise for filing your 2009 income tax returns!

 

   People have asked this question many times in the past 150 years and the answer is YES!

 

Lets go back to history and walk thru all the toughest times and see how much did they recover

Blog (Web log) eg. Facebook, Hi5, etc. are commonly used to communicate with your friends and clients. But beware as WHAT YOU SAID ON THE BLOG MAY AFFECT YOUR FUTURE!…. AS WHAT YOU WROTE ON THE BLOG CAN BE RETRIEVED  BY YOUR POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS, YOUR POTENTIAL COLLEGE THAT YOU WANT TO APPLY FOR OR EVEN THE MEDIA WHEN YOU RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE. Using a fake name cannot avoid this dilemma as it is not impossible to tract your real identity in the web. The only way to avoid is not to say anything important on the blog, instead send the recipient an E-MAIL!

 

TFSA is the most significant government savings program since the introduction of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).It’s a great incentive for Canadians to save their money and have the interest grow tax-free.

Everyone can save!	Any Canadian can open a TFSA if they’ve filed a tax return and are 18 years of age or older.
Earn without taxes!	A TFSA lets you invest without being taxed on interest or investment earnings.
Contribution room grows.	Initially, your annual contribution room is $5,000 in a calendar year. In future years, the federal government may increase the annual amount in $500 increments to recognize the impact of inflation.
If you don’t use it, you won’t lose it!	Unused contribution room gets carried over to the next calendar year. There is no limit to how much contribution room can be carried forward.
Withdrawals don’t impact contribution room.	If you take money out of your TFSA, you don’t lose the contribution room – you get it back in the following calendar year. Your contribution room for the next calendar year will increase to reflect the amount of your withdrawal.
Keep it simple, consolidate.	While you can hold more than one TFSA across a number of financial institutions, you’ll need to be careful not to over-contribute. Total contributions across all accounts can’t exceed your accumulated contribution room. Each year you’ll be assessed a 1% penalty on the amount you exceed your accumulated contribution room.
Keep what you earn!	Unlike an RRSP, you don’t deduct your TFSA contributions from income on a tax return. However, the earned interest or growth won’t be taxed. And money you take out of your TFSA won’t affect federal income-tested benefits and credits.
Help others save!	TFSA contributions are made with after-tax dollars, so you can help your spouse or adult children in setting up their TFSAs. The interest they earn on this gift isn’t taxable to you or them.

 

IncomePlus is an investment tool for investors who would like to recevie a Guaranteed retirement income in the future yet with a potential to Growth the underlining investments inside  the Annuity, your potential income stream will increase by 5% for every year that the income is not withdrawn …..

 

 

IncomePlus Video by Manulife Financial

 PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the largest accounting firm in the world of which I was articled in the late 70’s, has been named auditor of the Bank of America….. I’m always a proud PWC alumnus!

One of the key factors that lead to the credit crisis is the unregulated trade of derivatives of which Lehman was one of the key players. Obama government will be in a better position to keep this in track!!

 

Obama	McCain
Corporate Changes	Corporate Changes
Retain corporate tax rate of 35% and broaden the tax base.	Gradually cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
Make the R&D tax credit permanent.	Convert R&D credit to 10% of wages incurred for research and development, make R & D credit permanent.
Tax publicly-traded partnerships as corporations.	Eliminate the IRC Section 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction.
Impose a windfall profits tax on oil & gas companies.	Eliminate oil and gas loopholes.
Eliminate oil and gas loopholes.	First-year deduction of the full cost of three- and five-year business equipment purchased and placed in service between 2009 and 2013. Eliminate the interest deduction for expensed equipment.
Limit CEO pay and other perceived loopholes.	Ban Internet taxes. Permanent ban on taxes that threaten the Internet’s economic growth and prosperity.
Codify “economic substance” doctrine with bright-line tests to qualify for deductions.	Employee income inclusion for company-paid medical insurance. See “Personal Changes” for more details.
Create an international “watch list” to require additional disclosure and scrutiny for possible tax shelter transactions/ operations.	Ban new cell phone taxes.
Healthcare Tax Credits for small businesses. Plans to expand pooling options and eases enrollment for health insurance. Paid for via increased Social Security tax of 2% to 4% percent (split between employers and employees).
Provide a refundable $3,000 per employee credit for firms that increase hiring.
Personal Changes	Personal Changes
The top two individual income tax brackets return to 36% and 39.6% (from current 35%). Restore 1990’s levels for personal exemption and itemized deduction phase-outs.	Keep the top individual tax rate at 35%. Make permanent the phase-out of the limitation on itemized deductions.
Increase maximum capital gains rate to 20% for those earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples).	Retain the current 0% (for low-income taxpayers) and 15% long-term capital gain rates.
Eliminate capital gains taxes for entrepreneurs and investors in small business.	Maximum long-term capital gain rate would decrease to 7.5% for 2008 and 2009 then remain at 15% thereafter.
Re-characterize current capital income associated with “carried interests” as ordinary income.	Increase the amount of capital loss deduction from $3,000 to $15,000.
Top dividends rate of 20% when income is over $250,000.	Reduce tax rate to 10% on the first $50K seniors withdraw from retirement plans in 2009 and 2010.
Eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000.	Increase AMT exemptions and allow non-refundable personal credits to offset AMT.
Allow penalty-free (but still taxable) withdrawals from retirement plans.	Increase dependent exemption by $500 beginning in 2010 until it reaches $7,000 in 2016.
Extend the current AMT patch and index exemption amounts for inflation.	Exempt the unemployment insurance benefits from tax in 2008 and 2009 for taxpayers making less than $100,000.
Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. Increase eligibility and benefits, reduce the marriage penalty.	Refundable tax credit towards health insurance of $2,500 ($5,000 for couples). Treat employer provided health care benefits as taxable.
Suspend tax on unemployment benefits.
Make child/dependent care credit refundable, increase amount to up to 50% of qualifying expenses.
Expand tax credits for clean vehicles up to a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles.
Refundable $4,000 American Opportunity tax credit for qualified tuition expenses (to replace Hope credit).
Refundable “Making Work Pay Credit” of 6.2% of earnings up to a maximum earnings of $8,100 per worker.
Existing refundable Savers Credit expanded to match 50% of the first $1,000 of savings for families that earn under $75,000.
10% mortgage interest tax credit for non-itemizers capped at $800.
Mandate 401(k) and IRA plan participation.
Estate Tax Changes	Estate Tax Changes
Estate tax rate of 45%, estate tax exemption of $3.5 million per individual.	Reduce estate tax to 15% with $10 million exemption.