Help Us Protect the Environment

Clients

Year End Tax Planning

 

Some 2011 year-end tax planning tips include:

 

1.   Certain expenditures made by individuals by 31 December 2011 will be eligible for 2011 tax deductions or credits including: moving expenses, child care expenses, safety deposit box fees, charitable donations, political contributions, medical expenses, alimony, eligible employment expenses, union, professional, or like dues, carrying charges and interest expenses, certain public transit amounts, and children's fitness and arts amounts.

 

2.   You have until 29 February 2012 to make tax deductible Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions for the 2011 year. Consider contributing to a spousal RRSP to achieve income splitting in the future.

 

3.   If you own a business, consider paying a reasonable salary to family members for services rendered to the business.

 

4.   An individual whose 2011 net income exceeds $67,668 will lose all, or part, of their old age security. Senior citizens will begin to lose their income tax age credit if net income exceeds

$32,961.

 

5.   Consider purchasing assets eligible for capital cost allowance before the year-end.

 

6.   Consider selling capital properties with an underlying capital loss prior to the year-end if you had taxable capital gains in the year, or any of the preceding three years. This capital loss

may be offset against the capital gains.

 

7.   Consider donating to charities marketable securities with accrued gains, so that you can receive a full donation receipt without paying tax on the security's capital gain.

 

8.   Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) – a Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) for RESP contributions will be permitted equal to 20% of annual contributions for children

(maximum $500 per child per year).

 

9.   Health and dental premiums for the self-employed – individuals will be allowed to deduct amounts payable for Private Health Service Plan coverage in computing business income provided they meet certain criteria.

 

10. A refund of Employment Insurance paid for non-arm's length employees may be available upon application to CRA.

 

11. Taxpayers that receive "eligible" dividends from private and public corporations may have a significantly lower tax rate on the dividends. Notification from the corporation to the shareholder is required.

 

12. Eligible public transit passes will be entitled to a tax credit.

 

13. A tax credit for children under 16, at the beginning of the year, enrolled in certain organized activities is available.

 

14. A Registered Disability Savings Plan may be established for a person who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. Non-deductible contributions to a lifetime maximum of $200,000 are permitted which are eligible for tax-deferred grants and bonds. Please contact your professional advisors for details.

 

15. If required income or Forms have not been reported in the past to the CRA, a Voluntary Disclosure to the CRA may be available to avoid penalties. Contact us for details.

 

16. U.S. Citizens and green card holders have U.S. filing obligations.

Some general guidelines to follow in remunerating the owner of a Canadian-controlled private corporation earning "active business income" include:

 

1.   Bonusing down active business earnings in excess of the annual business limit may reduce the overall tax. However, leaving corporate active business income over this amount presents a tax deferral.

 

2.   Notification must be made to the shareholders when an "eligible" dividend is paid – usually in the form of a letter dated on the date of the dividend declaration. If all shareholders are directors, the notification may be made in the Directors' Minutes.

 

3.   Elect to pay out tax-free "capital dividend account" dividends.

 

4.   Consider paying dividends from your company to obtain a refund of "refundable dividend tax on hand".

 

5.   Corporate earnings in excess of personal requirements could be left in the company to obtain a tax deferral. However the effect on the "Qualified Small Business Corporation" status hould be reviewed before selling the company shares.

 

6.   Dividend income, as opposed to salaries, will reduce an individual's cumulative net investment loss balance thereby providing greater access to the capital gain exemption.

 

7.   Excessive personal income affects receipts subject to clawbacks, such as old age security, the age credit, child tax benefits, and GST credits.

 

8.   Salary payments require source deductions to be remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency on a timely basis.

 

9.   Individuals that wish to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan or a Registered Retirement Savings Plan may require a salary to create "earned income".

 

10. Salaries paid to family members must be reasonable.

 

In a 8 June 2011 Technical Interpretation, CRA notes that CRA Guide T4130 provides that where an employer reimburses an employee for the cost of a cellular phone service plan and the primary use is for business purposes, the reimbursement would generally not be considered a taxable benefit if:

 

•    the Plan's cost is reasonable,

•    the Plan is a basic Plan with a fixed cost, and

•    the employee's personal use of the service does not result in charges that are more than the basic Plan cost.

 

However, CRA notes that a taxable benefit may arise where additional charges are incurred as a result of the employee's personal use of air time minutes or personal long distance calls.

 

Also, when a reimbursement by an employer relates to an asset purchased and owned by an employee, a taxable benefit may apply.

 

 

In a 12 July 2011 Technical Interpretation, CRA notes that an automobile ceases to be subject to the automobile standby charge only when the employee is required by the employer to return both the automobile and its keys. Therefore, where an employee voluntarily surrenders the keys during a period of absence from work, CRA feels that those days must be counted in the calculation. (For calculation see CRA Form RC18).

 

 

An employer may pay reasonable tax-free per diem allowances for board and lodging to an employee while at a special worksite if the employee otherwise maintains a principal place of residence and is away for at least 36 hours and the distance was such that he/she could not reasonably return daily from the special worksite to the principal place of residence.

 

 

In a 3 November 2010 Tax Court of Canada case, the taxpayer was a self-employed Remax residential real estate agent who received commissions of $81,440 and $79,552 in the 2005 and 2006 years.

 

 

The taxpayer did not keep a log of her business kilometres but she claimed that she had driven 31,185 kilometres and 23,693 kilometres in 2005 and 2006 for a business percentage of 95%.

 

CRA reassessed on the basis that only 55% of her kilometres were for business purposes.

 

The taxpayer appealed to the Tax Court of Canada and the Court noted:

 

1.   That keeping a log book for automobile expenses is not specifically required by the ITA. However, by not doing so, she faces a heavier burden in proving that she used her motor vehicle almost exclusively for business purpose.

 

2.   The Court understood that keeping a log book may be tedious and may not always be practical; however, it would be useful in determining the actual business use.

 

4.   The Court noted that if she did not have time to report all her business driving, which they seriously doubt, she could have reported her personal driving.

 

CRA countered with a proposal to allow 75% and the Court agreed.

 

 

See www.cra.gc.ca/whtsnw/lgbk-eng.html for CRA's comments on "Documenting the Use of a Vehicle".

 

 

 

Many taxpayers when hearing the phrases "scientific research and experimental development" or "SRED" say ‘That doesn't apply to me or my company. We don't do any cutting-edge research.' However, the baseline for determining what is cutting edge research and development is the information and processes which are available in the public domain. One doesn't need to consider proprietary knowledge and techniques which have been developed by other competitors elsewhere in the world in order that one's own work can be considered to be new. In fact the Canada Revenue Agency has in the past been fairly generous in giving taxpayers access to tax credits in these areas. The SRED program was introduced by the government in 1985 and is designed as an financial incentive to Canadian taxpayers to innovate in business. More than 20,000 taxpayers claim more than $4 billion in tax credits each year in Canada.

 

These tax credits are generous. In addition to the normal tax deductions for a SRED expenditure incurred in the course of one's business, a company may also be able to claim refundable federal tax credits for SRED expenditures equal to 35% of those expenditures, and claim refundable provincial tax credits for research and development done in BC of an additional 10% of those SRED expenditures. For example, if a company reported taxable income of $200,000 which included deductions of $50,000 for amounts which qualified as SRED expenditures, then the company's total taxes payable would be reduced to less than $7,000 – an effective tax rate of about 4%.

 

SRED is any systematic investigation or search that is carried out in a field of science or technology that is:  (a)  basic research: work without a practical application designed to advance scientific knowledge),  (b) applied research: work designed to advance scientific knowledge but with a specific application in mind, and  (c)  experimental development: work done to chieve technological advancement in order to create or improve existing materials, products, or processes - even improvements which are only incremental. It is this last area of work that most taxpayers utilize in making their SRED claims. The work must be undertaken in Canada, by or on behalf of the taxpayer. Such work does not include market research or sales promotion, changes in style, quality control or other routine testing, research in social sciences, commercial production after the research has been completed, or routine data collection.

 

In general SRED must have three basic characteristics: (i) there must be an advancement beyond information or standard practices publicly available to the taxpayer, (ii) there must be uncertainty as to the success or failure of the work, and (iii) the investigation must be undertaken in a systematic manner through well-documented experiment and analysis by qualified personnel. In reading these characteristics one can see that a taxpayer does not need a high tech laboratory or be undertaking cutting edge research in order to perform qualifying work. One merely needs to be taking risks in trying to improve one's products or processes in ways that do not guarantee success, and doing so in a systematic way. Note that one's efforts do not necessarily need to lead to success; a taxpayer can learn as much from efforts and trials which fail, as from such efforts which succeed.

 

Many taxpayers are involved in fields in which some of their work could qualify for a SRED claim including: manufacturing, software development, electronics, printing and digital media, medical and dental services, food processors, chemicals and plastics, forestry and wood products, biotechnology, etc, etc. In addition, many types of work in these areas might potentially qualify including: development and testing of new products, making changes to existing products or processes (for example, by increasing efficiency in the form of reduced time or waste in production).

 

•    A manufacturer for example may ask himself: Have I developed any new products or changed designs of existing products? Did I experiment with new suppliers or materials? Did I improve any production processes? Did I work to improve product quality? Did I apply for any new patents? Did I modify any production machinery or change my packaging?

 

•    A medical or dental practitioner might ask himself: Have I performed any research (published or unpublished)? Have I developed any new protocols or participated in any clinical trials for new treatments, medications, or devices? Have I changed my practice or clinical techniques?

 

•    The owner of a food processor or winery might ask: Have we developed any new recipes or products?  Have we altered any production processes? Have we altered any soil chemistry or pruning or harvesting techniques?

 

Looking back over a financial reporting period one can examine the various jobs that one undertook. Examining the margins of those various jobs and identifying jobs which ran significantly over budget might provide an indication that something out of the ordinary happened in regard to that job which might in turn indicate that some work might have been performed in respect of that job which might qualify for a SRED claim.

 

There are three main steps in submitting a SRED claim. First, bearing in mind the general characteristics of SRED expenditures described above, a taxpayer must ask himself the various questions above and review his recent activities to try and identify any activities and expenditures which might qualify for a SRED claim. Second, with ourselves or a specialized SRED consultant, he must spend some time in documenting and describing the qualifying work which was done, and identify the financial resources (in terms of both materials, employee time, and subcontracted work) used in such activities. Third, we could assist the taxpayer in assembling the information in the appropriate SRED tax claims. Note that one has 18 months after the end of a fiscal year to make a SRED claim (an additional year after the income tax return for the year is normally due).

 

We would be glad to discuss with you any work that you have done in the last year or two which you believe might be eligible for a SRED claim and help you to take the next steps in completing such a claim.

 

Also, CRA released "The SR&ED Technical Review: A Guide for Claimants – 25 July 2011". CRA notes that this outlines CRA's internal procedure manual, called the Claim Review Manual.

 

The two main aspects of a CRA Technical Review are to determine if the definition of SR&ED has been met and to resolve any issues associated with eligibility.

 

The Claim Review Manual is used by all CRA Research and Technology Advisors (RTAs) when they conduct the Technical Review of the SR&ED claims.

 

CRA notes that all SR&ED claims are risk assessed upon filing. Based on the risk assessment, some claims are accepted as filed, some are selected for a desk review, while others may be selected for a more detailed technical and/or financial review.

 

 

Until the passing of the 2011 federal budget, corporate taxpayers which invest in a partnership which has a different fiscal year end date than that corporate partner were allowed to include in their income for a particular taxation year, their share of the partnership income for the partnership's fiscal year which ended in that taxation year. In other words, if a corporate partner with a tax year ending on 30 June 2011 invests in a partnership with a fiscal year ending on 31 December 2011, then the corporation would have reported its share of the partnership income for the December 2011 partnership year on its corporate tax return for its own tax year ended 30 June 2012. A number of taxpayers have taken advantage of this deferral of reporting of partnership income by utilizing partnerships with fiscal years ending just after their own tax years (and in some cases, stacking partnership on top of other partnerships, each with staggered fiscal years).

 

The government, feeling that such taxpayers are abusing this practice, has passed legislation in the 2011 budget which will prevent this income deferral. Under the new legislation, for tax years of corporate taxpayers ending after 22 March 2011, such taxpayers will now be required to report their share of the income of any partnership in which they have a significant investment (to more than 10% of the partnership's income) right up to their own tax year end – irrespective of when the partnership ends its fiscal year and issues its T5013 tax reporting slips.

 

The mechanics of this are complicated since many partnerships will continue to maintain their records and issue tax slips using their same fiscal years. A corporate investor will thus be required to estimate its share of the partnership's earnings for the "stub period" from the end of the partnership's fiscal year to the end of the taxpayer's taxation year, and to add this estimate to its taxable income. This would usually be done by prorating the partner's share of the partnership income from the partnership's previous fiscal year by the number of days in the stub period, though one can adjust this additional accrual income if one knows that the actual partnership income for the next period will be lower than in the previous year (if for example the partnership is winding down its operations). In the next year, the corporate partner will claim a deduction from its income for its stub period accrual income from the previous year, will include in its taxable income its share of the partnership's income for the partnership's fiscal year (which will include that prior year stub period accrual), and will add a new accrual amount for the stub period after the end of the partnership's last fiscal year (to the end of the corporate partner's tax year).

 

Obviously there is an initial disadvantage in the case of the corporate taxpayer above who would be including partnership income in its tax year ended 30 June 2012 equal to its normal share of the partnership income for the partnership's fiscal year ended 31 December 2011 as well as an estimated amount of income from the partnership for the six months ended 30 June 2012 – a total of 18 months of partnership income. To this end, the government has allowed a corporate partner to claim a series of reserves in order that this additional accrued income from its partnership investments can be gradually phased in over 5 years. Since the allowed reserve is 100% of the stub period accrued income, corporate partners will not be required to actually pay taxes on any stub period partnership income until their tax year ended after March 2012.

 

In addition to partnership, some taxpayers carry on limited activities through "joint ventures" or "co-ownerships" which are similar in some ways to partnerships. It had been the government's policy until 2011 to allow such a joint venture to establish a fiscal period which is different from that of its investors, provided that there is a valid business reason for such a difference. With the implementation of the new rules above limiting the deferral of income in the case of partnership investments, the government announced in June 2011 that it will no longer allow joint ventures to have fiscal years ended at different times from that of their investors. Taxpayers will now be required to compute their income as if any joint ventures of which they are a participant have the same taxation year end. As above, this will create an initial hardship for any taxpayers which have until now been reporting their joint venture income on a fiscal year basis (and will now be required to report more than 12 months of venture income), so the government has announced that it will provide guidance shortly to allow transitional relief to venturers similar to that available to corporate partners as described above.

 

 

On 17 September 2010, CRA announced that, effective for fiscal periods ending after 31 December 2010, a Partnership that carries on a business in Canada must file a T5013 Partnership Information Return where one of the following conditions are met:

 

•    At the end of the fiscal period the revenues plus expenses are greater than $2 million or, the Partnership has more than $5 million in assets'

 

•    at any time during the fiscal period the Partnership was either in a tiered Partnership, had a Partner that was a Corporation or a Trust, invested in flow- through shares of a principal business corporation that incurred Canadian resource expenses and renounced these expenses to the Partnership or had received a Written Request from CRA to file a T5013 Information Return.

 

The due date for filing the T5013 Return depends on the type of Partners.

 

If, throughout the fiscal period, all Partners are individuals (CRA considers a Trust to be an individual), the T5013 Form should be filed no later than 31 March after the calendar year in which the fiscal period of the Partnership ended.

 

If all Partners are corporations throughout the fiscal period, the T5013 Return should be filed no later than 5 months after the end of the Partnership's fiscal period.

 

If any of the members of the Partnership are a combination of individuals (including Trusts) and corporations, and if the Partnership is not a tax shelter, file the T5013 Form no later than the earlier of:

 

•    March 31 after the calendar year in which the fiscal period of the Partnership ended; or

 

•    the day that is five months after the end of the Partnership's fiscal period.

 

The 2011 Federal Budget proposed many changes to charities including:

 

1.   Previously Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations (RCAAAs) were precluded from the rules that govern charities. The Budget ends that and compels RCAAAs to comply with regulatory requirements including filing annual reports to the CRA. They will also have to follow specific rules for charities related to bookkeeping, tax receipts, and the value of the donated property. If they do not comply, they will face sanctions.

 

2.   Previously RCAAAs were only required to promote amateur athletics as a "primary purpose". Therefore, they often engaged in other unrelated activities. Under the proposed changes, the promotion of amateur athletics must now be the "exclusive purpose" of RCAAAs.

 

 

It was noted in the 24 August 2011 issue of the Globe & Mail (page B8) that the CRA has reassessed more than 130,000 donors in charity tax schemes in the last year for more than $4.5 billion. For example, it notes that the Burlington, Ontario based Parklane Financial Group Ltd. was promoting a charity tax scheme in which a donation receipt for $10,000 would be provided for every $2,500 of contribution.

 

In one example, Mr. D had made over $75,000 in cash contributions which were totally disallowed and now owes the CRA $180,000 in taxes and interest. Mr. D is involved in a potential Class-Action Lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court against the Plan's promoters. CRA noted that it has revoked the charitable status of participating charities.

 

 

In a 14 July 2011 Release, CRA discussed these CPP changes and notes that:

 

1.   As of 1 January 2012 the rules for contributing to the CPP will change.

 

2.   Individuals under 65 years of age – starting on 1 January 2012, will now have to contribute to the CPP if you are working, even though you may be receiving CPP.

 

Individuals at least 65 years of age but under 70 – starting on 1 January 2012, unless you elect to stop contributing to the CPP, you will now have to contribute to the CPP if you are working.

 

3.   To stop contributing to the CPP:

 

     •    Employee – an employee who is at least 65 years of age but under 70 and receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, can elect to stop contributing to the CPP by completing Form

          CPT30, giving a copy to all your employers, and sending the original to the CRA.

 

     •    Self-Employed – If you are self-employed, at least 65 years of age but under 70 and receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, you can elect to stop contributing to the CPP. To do so, complete the applicable section of Schedule 8, CPP Contributions on Self-Employment and Other Earnings for 2012 and file it with your income tax return for 2012. Do not use Form

CPT30.

 

The Election stays in effect until you turn 70 years of age or until you revoke the Election.

 

4.   Individuals receiving both pensionable earnings and self-employed earnings who are at least 65 years of age but under 70 and receiving a CPP or QPP pension can elect to stop contributing to the CPP by completing Form CPT30, giving a copy to all your employers, and sending the original to the CRA.

 

5.   If you want to start contributing to the CPP again, you need to revoke your Election to stop contributing to the CPP. However, you cannot revoke an Election in the same calendar year that you elected to stop contributing to the CPP. For example, if you elected to stop contributing to the CPP in 2012, you cannot revoke this election before 2013.

 

Since you cannot revoke an Election until 2013, Service Canada will provide information about this at a later date.

 

To get details, search for "changes to the Canada Pension Plan" on the CRA website.

 

Other changes that come into effect in 2012 include a person aged 60 or older will not have to cease working to qualify for early CPP. Also, the reduction to benefits when a person collects CPP before age 65 and the increase in benefits for delaying the receipts past 65 will both be increased over the next several years.

 

 

A taxpayer may apply to receive OAS payments at the age of 65. Failure to apply means a taxpayer could lose OAS payments because the Government only has to pay retroactive payments back to the 65th birthday for a maximum of 11 months, plus the month of application.

 

In a 29 June 2011 Federal Court case, the taxpayer argued that he was given incorrect information from Service Canada and, therefore, did not make an application for the OAS. Therefore, he was applying for retroactive payments past the 11 months.

 

 

The Court found that the information provided by Service Canada was not erroneous. Therefore, the taxpayer was limited to a retroactive payment of 11 months.

 

 

The Federal Government renewed the ecoENERGY Retrofit- Homes Program in the 2011 Federal Budget. From 6 June 2011, until 31 March 2012, homeowners are eligible to receive Grants of up to $5,000 to make their homes more energy efficient.

 

There are two important changes to the Program. First, there is a requirement for participants to register directly with the Program before booking their evaluation. Second, homeowners will now be required to provide receipts to their energy advisor at the time of the post-retrofit evaluation to confirm eligibility for the Grant.

 

Google ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes for more information.

 

Only products purchased after 6 June 2011 and installed after a pre-retrofit evaluation are eligible for an ecoENERGY Grant. All energy retrofits and post-retrofit evaluations must be completed by 31 March 2012. The homeowner must also sign the Grant application by this date.

 

When you apply for ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes, you may be eligible for complementary or matching funds from Provincial, Territorial and Municipal Governments, as well as from certain energy utilities and non-government organizations that use the EnerGuide Rating System. You should consult with these regional organizations directly to ensure you are meeting their respective guidelines and deadlines.

 

Google "complementary regional programs with ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes".

 

 

An individual must collapse the RRSP by 31 December of the year in which they turn 71. Because of the current low interest rates, most taxpayers choose to purchase a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), rather than an annuity which would result in lower payments throughout the person's retirement years.

 

Usually, an arrangement is made with the financial institution to directly transfer the RRSP into a RRIF thereby avoiding the inclusion in income.

 

A RRIF requires that funds be withdrawn on an annual basis other than in the year the RRSP is converted to the RRIF. An RRIF can be self-directed and may hold investments similar to those held by the RRSP. The minimum withdrawals range from 7.38% at age 71 to, say, 8.99% by 81 to 14.73% by 91, and 20% by 94 and older. These rates increase each year.

 

An individual may use either their own age or that of their spouse in determining the minimum withdrawal amounts. The advantage of using the age of a younger spouse will be to extend the period that the funds remain in the RRIF earning tax sheltered income.

 

When a taxpayer dies owning an RRIF, there will be a tax deferred rollover if a spouse is the "successor annuitant" and will continue to receive the monthly RRIF payments.

 

However, if the RRIF goes to the Estate and the spouse is the beneficiary, the spouse will receive the funds in the RRIF at the time of death; however, these may be transferred tax-free to the spouse's RRIF. Also, the RRIF may be transferred to a spouse's RRSP if the spouse is under the age of 72.

 

Where there is no spouse, and the beneficiary is a dependent child or grandchild, the funds may be taxable to the child; however, the child may purchase an annuity that must expire by age 18. If the child is dependent under a mental or physical infirmity, an annuity may be purchased that does not have to end by age 18.

 

Otherwise, the amounts in the RRIF are taxable in the deceased's Estate on the final tax return.

 

Where a Registrant pays an allowance to an employee or partner for supplies, the Registrant may be entitled to a GST/HST Input Tax Credit (ITC). For example, in a GST province, the Input Tax Credit (ITC) would be based on 5/105 of the amount paid. In HST provinces, the amount would be based on 12/112, 13/113 or 15/115, depending on the particular HST rate in that province.

 

A taxpayer may also claim ITCs for GST/HST on reimbursements paid to employees for expenses incurred in Canada either on the Actual Method or the Factor Method.

 

The Actual Method permits the claim based on the actual GST/HST. The Factor Method may be used if the GST/HST was charged on 90% or more of the total amount reimbursed for expenses. The main advantage is that the documentary requirements are lessened.

 

With respect to reimbursements, the Factor for GST only is 4/104, or 11/111 (British Columbia), or 14/114 (Nova Scotia), or 12/112 in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

  ^top

 

A parent may deposit the UCCB receipts in a bank account for the child such that the investment income is the child's, not the parents', for income tax purposes.

 

The UCCB pays the parent $100 per month for each child under the age of 6. Also, the attribution rules will not apply to investments made using the Canada Child Tax Benefit which is paid to certain low-income families depending on the family's income and the amount of the children, if the amounts are deposited in a bank account for the child.

 

The deposit should be made using the child's Social Insurance Number.

 

 

B.C. will reinstate the combined 12% PST and GST tax system following the Referendum decision to extinguish the HST in B.C. The PST will be reinstated at 7% with all permanent PST exemptions. The province may make some administrative improvements to streamline the PST.

 

The transition period is expected to take a minimum of 18 months consistent with the report of the Independent Panel on the HST.

  ^top

We are again accepting our responsibility to the community in a variety of ways. We have been raising funds for the United Way for over 25 years and this year was no exception. The staff and partners make cash commitments and then we raise additional funds with a variety of fun activities. These activities include: a silent auction, a costume day, a 50/50 draw and very very popular bake off. It is surprising that accountants are also good bakers – something to fall back on if the accounting profession doesn't work. This year we increased our contribution to the United Way by over 20% which is a credit to the involvement of our staff and partners.

 

We made our annual visit to the Salvation Army Harbour Lights on November 28, where our staff served an evening meal to over 400 of the Downtown Eastside's neediest people. This has been a tradition for a number of years – we sponsor the dinner and staff look forward to it each and every year. The dinner is always a special meal for them and their appreciation is evident. We also treat them as they leave with a candy cane and a "Merry Christmas" – many of these people are invisible to so many, and to be treated as special means a lot to them. We continue our practice of donating to three charities instead of sending out Christmas cards.

 

We have some new staff members which we would like to introduce to you:

 

•    Nicole Grunberg will be joining us as an articling CA student in January 2012. Nicole has a BA degree from 

      UBC and recently completed the DAP program also at UBC. She was referred to us by a client and we do

     appreciate receiving these referrals.

 

•    Fei Han – Fei has a BBA from Simon Fraser University and has experience in a CA firm in West Vancouver.

     She joins our client accounting group.

 

•    Anne Huang – Anne is also is a CGA student with a BBA in accounting from Trinity Western University as

     well as a BA prior to that and joins our client accounting group.

 

•    Phata Chan – Phata joins us in December with 14 years of public practice experience. She is a CGA with a

     Bachelor of Applied Business Administration from Alberta and is a Certified Consultant in Simply

     Accounting and Quickbooks.

 

•    Jennifer Louie – Jennifer is a CA with six years experience with a national firm. She has a B.Sc and a

     Diploma in Accounting from UBC. She will join our audit group.

 

The partners and staff will celebrate our 53rd Christmas Party at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on December

2nd. We recognize not everyone celebrates Christmas, but may celebrate other religious/cultural customs, it is

always a wonderful way to start December and enjoy each other's company and to see old friends who have

retired or moved on to other workplaces.

 

DRLR