Not just doctors, nurses, employers...

Everyone should make it their responsibility to look out for those around them, and that includes letting those around you know there are reasons to file a tax return, especially for low income families or individuals, there are incentives to file.

To name several, the GST Credit, the Working Income Tax Benefit, the Refundable Medical Expense Supplement. These three alone can add up to thousands of dollars in refunds if returns are correctly completed.

Then there's the credits for supporting other dependent family members, which got a kick of another $2,000 if those dependents are infirm. I've been writing about the family caregiver amount, $2,000 bump that equates to $300 per infirm dependent for the past year.

Read how one doctor feels about making sure his patients file their taxes and maybe there's someone in your family or neighbourhood who could use a hand in filing their returns to improve their financial situation? There are free clinics this time of year, and maybe if you helped them get organized with their paperwork, they'd get it done.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/fpnewsvoices/doctor-prescribes-tax-returns-to-low-income-patients-199490231.html?domain=fpnews

The latest federal budget is full of news about how they are going to be operating in a more 'austere' manner, and that probably means there won't be as much help for the low income filer who is behind on their filing for prior years. I encourage you to lend encouragement or even help someone get organized so they can file.

And kudo's to this doctor for being brave enough to speak up to say yes, this matters to the health of my patients, that they file and that they get the credits they are entitled to claim. How does your doctor react when asked to complete more paperwork?