taxdetective-Sandusky-Register

I'm writing my script for a series of four hours for bookkeepers, topic, Internal Control. Yesterday, I spent the day looking through my textbook for management audit at the definitions of what is internal control, who it applies to, why it's necessary and how it's implemented. it's about doing the right thing in order to succeed at whatever your endeavour. It's about protection, it's about ethics.

Then, because my husband said "you need to go say something about the Southlands development, particularly about the process of why we have to keep on saying no, over and over", so off I went to sign up to speak. I'm # 331 so maybe I'll get to speak on Friday night. There have been 209 speakers over 3 meetings this week and the hearing has been extended to Friday evening.

I listened to speakers for the YES camp, intent on flattering the developer with how much they 'trust' him and the process and how they are the silent majority. I wondered how many would feel the same way if they knew about the potential for tax credit claims that will result in significant tax savings the developer can obtain if he qualifies for the Eco Sensitive Land donation tax credit.

I don't know if the developer qualifies, but when I Tweeted about it last night, the PR person was quick to respond that this wasn't their motivation, but it was what he didn't do that was interesting. He didn't deny there was a potential benefit. I think that the Southlands has become like an albatross, and for the developer, the donation tax credit is perfect. Me, I'd like that 80% donation to be 100%, and for the developer to move on to other projects, like renovation of the town centre and creation of enough housing, services and facilities for the plethora of seniors or about to be seniors in town. The Southlands development may be beautiful, but it's not in the right place. Move it to the town centre. Get it off the floodplain. That's my opinion too.

Now, remember, that plebiscite run by the people for the people back in the 80's where people stayed home from their holidays to vote because their kids insisted they vote against the development? I was reminded of why it was so successful by one speaker last night.

I was so impressed by a young man, maybe 10 or 12 year old, who reminded us of the disruption to habitat that will result, as the Southlands is home to prey and predator. He asked us to remember that we need to save this land for him and those who are yet to be born. I wonder, this time around, how many kids in Delta will hear his speech and pressure their pro-development parents to change their minds? Last time, one of my clients told me his children had totally refused to have anything to do with him unless he voted against the development. He was a developer. Those kids are now adults. I'm sure they all remember Friends of Boundary Bay, Martin Keeley and his Wetlands Road Show it travelled province wide for many years. Remember those lessons in the trailer and the parks and schools? If anyone (especially teachers) wants a copy of those publications, ask me, I have them and can distribute them to you. eileen@taxdetective.ca.

I listened to the NO camp expound on their reasons for not proceeding. All great reasons, especially the one about how this is a great plan, it's just in the wrong place, so put it in the town centre and lose the mall.

One speaker echoed my husband's reason eloquently, about how it's time to put this to a vote. The public hearing process really isn't democracy in action.

But my reasons for saying NO weren't being expressed. I've been pondering what are they?

1) Fear its going to cost me. I know this sounds stupid, but it's about the hole in my driveway. This is the same fear as last time, in the 80's. Except, now that hole, it's bigger. The hole fills up with sea water when the water table rises with every high tide, especially storm surges. Sometimes, it overflows and creates a puddle in my driveway.

Several years ago it cost us about $1,500 to create a new and better sand pit beneath the driveway, and an enhanced hole cover. When we purchased this property 28 years ago, we didn't know that there was not a drainage system in most of Beach Grove. It was only when I volunteered to serve on a Beach Grove/Boundary Bay committee where I learned about the bylaws and the infrastructure restrictions in these two communities.

That's also where I learned that only several of the many streets in our community have any sort of drainage built in. That's likely why Delta steps up so readily to deal with storm surges every winter. They probably worry about the lawsuits should this become a bigger problem. At some point I suspect we're going to have to pay to have our streets ripped up to deal with this lack of infrastructure.

I would like to know why Delta isn't likely to enforce their % of pavement on road allowances by-law. Not only does pavement impact greenhouse gases, but it makes drainage difficult. At some point this has the potential to become a special project for Delta and it's going to cost us to have the roadways ripped up again.

2) Fear of flooding. Why is that? The pavement of local road allowances has proliferated recently, in spite of bylaws that limit pavement on road allowances and property.  Puddle jumping is often required, for example, this morning, the corner of Enderby and 16th, there's water on the roadway. So much so that I bought red rubber boots so I could stomp in the puddles. It's therapy. You may have seen me, I walk my dog two or three times and day, 20-30 minutes each time, various routes through the Grove.  I can tell you, there are lots of  puddles and the pavement probably isn't legal. Is there a puddle in your driveway that never goes away?

I'm sure that Delta is reticent to enforce their bylaws especially along Beach Grove Road where the taxpayers pay 3-5 times the property taxes I pay back a few blocks. Must be difficult to say to someone who has paid you $15,000 or $20,000 in property taxes, no you can't pave your driveway.

But it's my observations over 28 years of living here, and walking my dog, the houses whose driveways aren't paved, the people across the street aren't getting flooded during storm surges to the extent that those with paved properties across from them are. If you live across from someone whose entire road allowance is paved, why aren't you calling to complain? Why doesn't by-laws consider this important? I'm amazed at why this is allowed to continue and propagates itself by the Corporation re-paving when it's necessary to dig it up. Why don't they have a standard that they replace pavement with gravel and start to reverse this ridiculous trend?

3) Rising cost of insurance. My insurance agent's assurances that our house insurance, which is already very expensive at almost $1700/yr because of living on a flood plain will likely increase yet again. I wonder will the strata council for the Southlands struggle to obtain insurance, or how much will the strata fees be because of insurance? Will buyers have difficulty obtaining mortgages if they can't obtain reasonable insurance coverage?

Or is that why the berms are being substantially increased in the developers' planning process? What will that do to insurance premiums for those of us on the other side of the berm?

Back to my driveway hole, will it be seen to be more risky to live outside the Southlands because of the shift in the water table that may happen because of the weight of the development? Water displacement - has anyone examined the possibility that the development of the Southlands will impact the water table in the surrounding communities? I read about that happening by the Queensborough Bridge some years ago. Developer loaded the site, and the neighbour's property flooded because the water table accommodated by shifting. Huge lawsuit.

4) Pedestrian safety. We have narrow lane ways here, two cars can squeeze past each other, but they need to slow down to do that. There are no sidewalks in most of the Grove, road allowances, gravel, sometimes with large boulders or large rocks that are impossible to walk on without twisting an ankle, or potentially breaking a dog's leg.

Some landowners are aggressively discouraging use of their road allowance by pedestrians. The speed limit is 30 km. On several of the thru-fares, there are speed bumps, and in the past several years, the speed on 16th Avenue was reduced from 50 km to 30 km.

5) My sense of safety feels like it is in jeopardy. These days some drivers speed, in excess of 30 km on thru-fares like Duncan and Farrell, and Beach Grove Road, even with it's bumps. They blast through intersections doing at least 60 km without even glancing to see whether or not there is someone approaching. Those drivers on the roads that cross these thru-fares, Kirkwood being one, aren't always stopping at the stop sign. In the last two weeks, I've witnessed three incidents where they didn't stop at all.

I've learned it's best to avoid the sleep deprived parents booting it through the Grove to get their kids to Beach Grove School. And to avoid the drive home crowd, frustrated at truckers who have hit overpasses and caused them long delays. I've experienced road rage several times in the past few weeks here in the Grove. Signage has appeared recently with serious messages like "45 children live and play on this block...slow down", so it's not just me that feels this way.

6) What's the impact on me when the 1,900 new families drop their children in Beach Grove every morning, and pick them up after school.

We have a no left turn off Boundary Road into Beach Grove Road for the morning school rush, which gets ignored, as there are no consequences. Will Delta be working to obtain adequate school busing from Boundary Bay and Southlands, with this proliferation of young families? Didn't the school bus just get cancelled? Will Delta Police find the will to enforce the no left turn and the speed limit?

7) We have by-laws designed to protect us from harm. I don't believe they are being enforced adequately. I started out talking about internal controls? If we're going to add 1,900 people to Tsawwassen, the Corporation of Delta must examine and raise it's standards, and provide enforcement of  by-laws. By-laws like no left turn, speeding, pavement allowances, impedance's to walking on road allowances. Delta should be planning drainage upgrades and dyke reinforcement, and fixing problem puddles on roadways.

In summary, you asked me how this development is likely to affect me? I live and work, and walk in Beach Grove. That's right next door. For me, it's about the cost of drainage improvements, the cost of insurance increases, the risk of water table displacement affecting my property, pavement allowances, road allowance safety, and safety concerns for pedestrians, especially all the dog walkers, and the families who walk here, given the likelihood of a significant increase in local traffic.

I shop at the mall. I'd love to see that mall ripped out and replaced with something creative, including a farmer's market. Why can't Southlands be a donation to the Municipality in it's entirety instead of only 80%? Give the developer of a new improved mall incentives to move the development to the town centre, up off the flood plain.

Mayor and Council for Delta if 1,900 new neighbours plan to use my local streets, it's going to be necessary to invest in drainage, road improvements, and enforce road allowances or design safe routes for walkers.

A public hearing may be one way to gauge what's going on, but is it democratic? Public speaking is a huge fear for most people, you've heard from several hundred people brave enough to overcome that fear. There are how many residents in Tsawwassen? Is this process fair? It's certainly entertaining, But is that a reason to continue these hearings? Put it to a vote, and please consider very seriously accepting a 100% donation of the land, and taking the advice of those who advocate moving the development to the town centre.

Now, back to internal controls for bookkeepers...it's all about ethics. Ethics is really about protection. Protection that starts with me and my safety and sense of well-being, and it ripples out, like tossing a rock into a pond. If I protect me, then I can extend my protection to my neighbour, and to my community.

Wouldn't you think that a professional firm with a national presence who presents a contract for self-employed services would have a reasonable contract with terms you could live up to?

They contacted me after I visited their booth at a professional trade show.  I should have known better. They said they had clients who wanted QuickBooks consulting. They promised work. I provided them information about me, and invested probably at least a half day updating my information to their specifications and providing a resume on their website.

Then they called me in for an interview. This took another half day, and I paid for downtown parking. Once there, a discussion ensued about how since I was in public practice, I would be treated as self-employed. I was presented with their 'boiler-plate' contract, about five pages of it, and told to sign. 

I don't sign five page contracts without reading and understanding and thinking about them. As I'm insured through my practice, and have my own tools and equipment, and work from a home online, it seemed reasonable I would be self-employed. But there was this challenge, how would I ensure they and their clients agreed to privacy, and Proceeds of Crime & Terrorist Financing clauses in my engagement letter? And they wanted me to give notice, two weeks notice, and in public practice, if you stop working for a client because of ethical reasons, you don't give notice, you walk away. I forwarded them what I would expect their clients would agree to. No response.

Then I read the requirements of their contract. One section in particular stopped me in my tracks. They expected me to make them and their clients 'named insured' on my policy and for me to obtain a waiver of subrogation. This bothered me, because I wasn't sure it was even possible for me to do that. I contacted the insurance company and was just informed, no, it's not possible.

I called them back, and said that if we were to work together, it would have to be on an employment basis, where they assumed the risk. Guess what? Silence.

I'm not a lawyer but, common sense tells me if you sign a contract promising something you can't deliver, that contract isn't going to be valid and enforceable. If anything went wrong, you'd be personally liable because you promised something it was impossible to deliver.

Moral of the story? Don't make promises you can't keep. Be careful what you sign. Read and understand that what you agree to provide must be possible.

And, if you are self-employed, it really isn't likely a personnel agency will be willing to live with a public practitioners terms of engagement, and vice-versa. Once burned, twice shy.

Yet again, a client who claims the DTC transfer for their child under 18 misses claiming the DTC supplement.

This supplementary amount tops up the DTC (disability tax credit) both federally and provincially, but it's clawed back by any child care expense claims by anyone. The supplementary amount is mentioned under the Disability amount transferred from a dependent but CRA really don't explain it very well at all

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4064/rc4064-e.html#P614_55944

well, what do you know, it's finally explained somewhere - the new Folio has two paragraphs that describe how to calculate it, but they only talk about the federal component, and there is a provincial/territorial component that of course will vary by the province/territory.  IF someone finds a chart that lists those amounts, please share it!!!!

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/fls/s1/f1/s1-f1-c2-eng.html#N1049A

"Supplemental amount

2.27 The supplemental amount is available to an eligible person with a disability who is under 18 years of age at the end of the tax year. The maximum supplemental amount is a fixed amount ($4,402 for 2012), that is indexed each year in accordance with subsection 117.1(1). In certain circumstances, discussed at ¶2.28 below, the supplemental amount may be reduced. Assuming there is no reduction to the supplemental amount for the tax year, the maximum tax credit available in respect of the supplemental amount for 2012 is $660 (15% x $4,402).
2.28 The supplemental amount may be reduced where an amount paid in the year for the care or supervision of the eligible person with a disability is claimed by any person as a child care expense deduction under section 63, a disability supports deduction under section 64 or a medical expense tax credit under section 118.2 for the tax year. The reduction in the supplemental amount is the amount by which the care or supervision costs so claimed exceed a fixed amount. The fixed amount for 2012 is $2,578 and is indexed each year in accordance with subsection 117.1(1). If the amount paid for care and supervision of the eligible person with a disability, and claimed under section 63, 64 or 118.2 is $6,980 (for 2012) or more, the supplemental amount is reduced to nil."

The tax software out there that people use to file their own taxes doesn't seem to capture this extra credit, and I don't know how many times it's one of the things I've found that gives people an extra amount of refund every year (and back 10 years).

It's one of the reasons I get called the "TaxDetective".  It's because amounts like this are hidden, and in fact, CRA is not very forthcoming about disclosing that this extra supplementary amount exists either. Some years it completely disappears from all of their website and printed materials. Then I / and other people like me complain, and it re-surfaces.

This supplementary DTC disappears at age 18. The whole credit system for claiming for an adult child with a disability is completely different. The child has to file a return to claim their own DTC first, and then, the parent or other supportive relative can transfer any amount not used by the person over 18 (there's a long list of who that can be) and they don't have to live with you to claim some credits.

I have a web page with information about the transition to adult as the Pacific Spirit transition group asked me to speak about this topic and it was so muddled that I put together this page to remind myself of what all the rules are and how many things change at or about the time your child with a disability transitions to adult for tax purposes.

http://www.taxdetective.ca/youth.html

Remember, many of the personal tax credits can be apportioned between supportive relatives, which means that if one person claims the credits, but can't use all of them, the remainder can be allocated to a second or third supportive person. It's also possible to agree on the allocation to split up the credits because everyone takes their turn...as long as no one takes more than their share, and if someone does, sometimes, everyone loses the right to claim. So take care and play safe.

Another call from someone claiming to be from Century Holdings from this number

I can't believe they have called three times now, each time from a different number.

This time, it's 604-366-1023

I requested that this caller respect that I am on the Do Not Call list and to remove me from their calling list. He agreed to do that.

Here are the rules. Do you think they should cover opinion pollsters? I think they should.
https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/cofi-fico-eng

Century Holdings is a developer going for a development permit on a huge parcel of farm land. The proposal is that they would build on 20% and gift 80% to the municipality.  

778-839-1474
604-366-5723

Maybe it's an aging parent, an uncle, aunt, a neighbour, a friend. You are worried they will get taken advantage of.

Maybe they confided in you that they haven't filed their taxes for a number of years, or even worse, CRA has assessed them, and they've paid what was assessed based on sales proceeds, but they know they shouldn't have had to pay that much tax.

The trouble is they can't seem to get it together to calculate their cost basis and to file an amendment requesting a reduction in their taxes payable.

There's somewhere to go for help. The Public Trustee is the Public Guardian is the agency to go to for information.

They will steer you to the correct agency to report the situation anonymously so that your client gets the help they need.

You'll have to find the Public Trustee for your province/territory if you're not in BC. Here's the link for the BC Public Trustee web page that provides guidance on when and where to report that someone may need help.

http://www.trustee.bc.ca/services/adult/assessments_investigations.html

Were you thinking about leaping on the entrepreneurial band wagon, especially now that Intuit Canada has come up with the offer of a free year of access to QB Online for start-ups?

Before you leap, you might want to see what the profitability for your choice of industry might be. How much do you need to support you and your family in the style to which they have become accustomed? I'm always surprised by how many people in Canada report income of $30,000, and yet, have huge houses with what must be gigantic mortgages. If interest rates go up, that delicate balance could be totally upset by banks refusal to continue to finance the mortgage without more income reported. Then what would these people do?

Industry Canada has such interesting information, and they have their fingers in so many pies. If you're looking to trademark, copyright, or if you sell anything that is measured, they control the Weights and Measures, and if you were thinking Foundation or Not for Profit, they're into that too..

But back to the entrepreneur. Did you know that food truck you were thinking about starting? For all your blood sweat and tears, what would you earn? Here's where you'll find what others report.  Now, be careful, especially if it's a cash-based industry, because the numbers here may not be what they actually earn.

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cis-sic.nsf/eng/home