Every time you donate to Goodwill, you help someone fi nd a job. Heres how You donate to Goodwill. Goodwill sells your donations in our stores. People fi nd good jobs. The revenues help fund job training and other services to prepare people for job success. 1 2 4 3 Donate Wisely Not all organizations that collect donations make the best use of them. Some thrift stores solicit donations under the name of a charity but as little as 5 percent of the money generated from these donations may actually go to the charity. At Goodwill, 84 percent of our revenues are funneled directly back into our employment and training programs. Goodwill is consistently ranked among top charities that make your donation go further. CONVENIENT GOODWILL LOCATIONS Burlington 4051 New St. (at Walkers Line) 905-333-8989 Oakville 407A Speers Rd. (west of Dorval) 905-338-6240 Milton 550 Ontario St. S (at Hwy 25 & Derry Rd) 905-875-3533 15% Off Your next purchase with copy of this ad(Not to be combined with any other off er.Valid until Dec. 31/11.) 9@> JLDD<I J8C< .DVLB LLIHCRUHC NOTSNI W ETAG ERIHSP MAH x 304# Y WH DUNDAS ST W 2525 Hampshire Gate Oakville/Mississauga (905) 829-9909 WWW.MAYTAGSTORE.CA *Prices have already been reduced by the 13% HST. See store for details. EF G8PD<EKJ# EF @EK<I<JK =FI - DFEK?J F8:! ? <EK@I< JKFI< FE J8C< Built-In Dishwasher ? , C\m\c ; `i\Zk =\\[ J_ \\i :c\Xe ? Epcfe iXZbj ? ?`[[\e :fekifcj Bottom Mount R efrigerator ? (/%, Zl% ]k% ? Glcc Flk ;ffi ? D \Xk CfZb\i ? <c\Zkife`Z :fekifcj .)0! (#(/0! Registration fee $39 +HST. Refunded if not selected. For info visit www.StarCastScouting.com ATTEND ANYTIME BETWEEN 6PM-9PM CASUAL DRESS Acting/Modeling Opportunities Oakville Wednesday, August 3rd Real Canadian Superstore (Upstairs Community Room) 201 Oak Park Blvd. Have you always wondered how people get into Sears catalogues, Zellers fl yers, McDonalds TV commercials, movies, magazine ads, music videos and more? Its no secret many of those people got their start by attending a StarCast Search. The fi lm and advertising industry is booming. Scouting all ooks, shapes, sizes and ethnicities. 5 years of age and up.l Experience not required. Dont miss this opportunity! ???????????? ???????????? w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R T h u rs d ay , J u ly 2 8, 2 01 1 1 4 Today we are going to talk about income taxes. First we will hear how many Canadians feel about taxes. Then we will show how taxes can be reduced. Investors have shared their thoughts on taxes over the years. They do not mind pay- ing taxes because they enjoy the social ben- efits Canada offers. Some, however, wish the government would be more efficient in spending our tax dollars. While Canadians understand the need for taxes, they certainly do not want to pay more than their fair share. That being the case, why are we not as vigilant when it comes to the opportunity to reduce our taxes? Paying better attention to our invest- ments is one way we can take the bull by the horns. Why is it that investors are most con- cerned about the return on an investment and at the same time they have almost no regard for their after tax return? Did you know that in the United States it is a regulatory requirement for investments returns on mutual funds to be given both before and after tax? Why do we ignore taxes in our country while the U.S. has a require- ment to report them? Tax research in Canada (Canadian Tax Journal 2003) shows us just how important it is to pay attention to tax implications in mutual funds. Tax wastage within a fund can reduce an investment return by as much as 15 per cent. That is about one seventh of our total freturn. So if you made a before tax return o seven per cent, you lose one per cent right off the bat. That is before you have to pay your regu- lar income tax on that growth. Often we will see an investment statement of a conservative investor who will have a risky tax shelter investment included with what otherwise is a conservative portfolio. When asked, they will say they purchased the tax shelter to reduce taxes; not because it was a good investment. Then we will see that the portfolio is not tax effective. Had the portfolio been orga- nized correctly in the first place perhaps the motivation for the tax shelter would not have existed. The simple tax rules that allow you to minimize taxes are not used. A common mistake is holding an interest bearing investment like a bond or GIC inside a non- registered account while an equity investment is being held inside the RRSP. If this is a long term investment, the interest earning investment should be in the registered account. This doesnt alter your asset allocation, just the assets location. Bonds pay interest income which is fully taxed. Stocks pay dividends and have the potential for capital gains. Canadian dividends and capital gains have income tax advantages. Earning one dollar of interest from a bond means you pay taxes on one dollar. One dollar from a Canadian dividend or from a capital gain allows you to pay taxes on an amount less than the one dollar earned. So if you have a combination of stocks and bonds in your portfolio, hold the fully taxable bonds within your registered account. Income earned within registered accounts is not taxed until the funds are withdrawn. The solution is to have a tax strategy. Hold fully taxable investments in the tax sheltered accounts. Hold interest bearing investments within your registered account. Avoid investing in risky tax shelters to lower your taxes when you may be able to achieve the same result by simply doing what our federal government allows you to do. If you have non-registered investments it may be beneficial to move some of those to take advantage of the Tax Free Savings Account. That is not a move that should be made without considering the implications. So discuss with your advisor whether that would make sense in your circumstances. Simple tax planning can be accomplished by taking advantage of the current tax rules. You can lower your taxes without purchas- ing risky tax shelters. Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI. In 1991, Peter found- ed Peter Watson Investments in Oakville. Peter can be reached at 905-842-2100 or visit the website at www.peterwatsoninvest- ments. There are ways to lower your income taxes Dollars & Sense By Peter Watson