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Orooeeky Tmes WenesoyMay 21, 1997 -i1 FINANCIAL TIPS Tax Advantages of Being SeIf-Empl oyed You're thinking of making the big move. You're fed up with office politics and are certain that your talents would be appreciated by a much wider audience on a freelance basis. The freedom of working for yourself at hours that suit you is another plus. And you've heard the tax benefits are great. That's basically true," says John Wonfor, CA, senior manager in national tax at B00 Dunwoody. <Self-employed individuals have much more flexibility in what they cati deduct for tax pur- poses.' Those who are self-employed, explains Michael Cadesky, CA, of Cadesky & Associates in Toronto, can dlaim "any reasonable expense they incur to earn their business income, as long as i's not specifically denied under the In- corne Tax Act" Such expenses include: -Haif of what yau spend on meais and entertainment for clients. -Office supplies. -Subscriptions, books and maga- zines needed for business. -Office equipment, such as comput- ers, printers and fax machines. -Maney spent on off ice heip. ('Where a spouse or relative is employed, you have the additional benefit of in- come spliting," Cadesky notes.) -Car expenses incurred in carryîng out your business. -Perinent travel expenses. -Home office expenses. (These in- clude heat, light, power, telephone, praperty taxes, maintenan.ce and cleaning, mortgage interest or rent. You can dlaim these expenses only for the portion of the house you ac- tually use for your business.) Although al these expenses are deduct- ible, warn the two CAs, you'd better be expecting to make a profit In your busi- r ness. If it's just something you are do- ing on the side ta generate losses ta reduce other income, Revenue Canada could disallow many -- or even ail -- of your expenses. Cadesky points out that Revenue Canada has recently pumped up its surveillance of self-employed individu- ais. "They've hired hundreds of auditors to audit this groupr" Most of the audits are aimed at people who haven't filed their tax retumns, 'which underscores the importance of fling on timer But Revenue Canada is also getting increasingly tough on those who do file. For that reason, says Wonfor, to pro- tect yourself in case of an audit, "docu- ment, document, document!" Always keep receipts. For meals and entertain- ment, for example, write on the receipts who you were with and the reason for the event. "And don't make false dlaims. Revenue Canada has gone sa far as to phone people ta see if you actually had boughit them lunch and why7" Similarly, when you travel, make a de- tailed expense repart, with the various -receipts attache, and provide a writ - ten explanatian of where yau went and the business reason for the trip. For car expenses, keep an automobile log showing where you went, how many miles you travelied, who you went ta see and why. Wonfor advises that yau be reasonable in your expense dlaims.1"f the average person in your line of business spends 1 % of their revenue on meals and en- tertainment and you spend 5%, Rev- enue Canada is sure to ask why." Your best defence, says Cadesky, is "dcean records.' Ask your chartered accountanti what is reasonably deduct- ible and how to set up bookkeeping that will satisfy Revenue Canada. /Ô ugttoyoby Tho Institteof G/iarer&dAccountants of Ontalo. Now Hear This: Hearing loss is more common than you thiuk lt's not just the ghetto blaster your son is blasting in his romn or the rock Coli- cert your daughiter left with ringing ears last weekend. Noise thatlard on tlie cars is ail around uis. Sainle pea- pie mistakenly believe they've grown accustamled ta loud noise. But in reality, this mnay mnean they may îîat hear at the sanine volumec they uised ta. Hlearing loss caused by repeated exposure ta noise is anc of, the most commllon and fastest grawing disabili- tics in North Amecrica. 'Sound is mecasurcd by deci- bel levels, ranging fromn 0 dIB, the soitest sounld thie hurnan car can hecar, ta 165 dB, a shotgun blast. The sensitive receptor celis in aur cars are constantly boni- hardcd by sound waves and withi comiortable levels of sound. under 80 dB, flhe ceils bounce back, ready ta wýork again. But if the sound is too loud, or lasts toa long, receptar ceils are dcstroyed and hecaring is dainaged - forever. Think oai sameone you know with rcduccd hearing. Chances are they have trou- ble hecaring high irequency souinds such as doorbelis, birds and "s", "Sil," 1h" and othier consonants. For a per- son with a hecaring loss, con- versationis can he confusing and dîticuit. More people than you think suifer fromn this frus- trating prablcm. In a recent suirvey conducted for Widex liearîng aids, une in ten Canadians said they have a hearing problein., %,\nd hcaring ioss isn't just a sign ai growing aider. Thirty- nine per Cent ai' the people with hecaring loss are under 50 years aid. Keeping your ears open -Understanding what can harn your cars and] protecc- ing yoursci at work and at home is the best saf'eguard against the raising inci- dences of hearing loss. In the warkplace, guide- fines have been developed ta reduce occupational hear- ing loss. Under provincial laws, noise on the job can- îlot exceed 90o decibels lfor an eighit hour shift. But with noise leveis of 90 deci- bels comparable to the roar af a subway or lawn mlower, thcre is stili a risk your hecar- ing wilI hie daiiagcdl with constant exposure. Farmns, which can be just as loud as any industrial plant, doni't have to foliow the set provincial guidelines. Tractors, grain dryers and even flie squeaiing of pigs at feeding tinie, can ail cause ear damage in ime. Cutting down noise levels by 15 te 30 dB with earplugs or ear- muffs is the best protection for noisy workplaces. At home, m-ost appli- ances, while annoying to our hearing, don't lead to immediate hecaring damiage. But there are a few hazards to listen for and avoid. Sonne baby toys such as tay instruments and ratties excecd the darnger-hearing threshold of 100 de*cibels. Loud music is ant abvious cuiprit. Headphanies, because thcy direct sound waves directly inito the car, are more likeiy to damnage thec cars than stereas. Listcning tainiusic with the volume set above thec hialf'way mark, is "auditory suicidie," according to 'l'lic Canadian FIleaiing Society. Turn it down, is thle best rule of thumbl for hecaring protec- tion in thie home. Hope for hearig For those who do have a hearing loss, there is hope wVith tcchniology. Just as yau wear glasses ta cape with bad eyesight, hiearing aids, when fitted carefu ' ly, can help you hecar. One of the latest hearing aida is an in-the-car fully digital hear- ing aid called Senso thiat canl distinguish betwvcen speech and noise and autamiaticaliy adjusts its sounid levels ta match your environmnent. According ta thle Widex survey, anly 20 pier cent of thase wîth a hicaring prab- lemi use a hearing aid. Despite advanced technaolo- gy in hecaring aids and the iocreasing inumiber af people wha could use and benlefit from thlemn, there is stili a reluctance ta wear thiem. In (lie Widex survey, 80 per cent af wamnen say they would wear a hearing aid if it wouid imiprave thieir hear- inig, but onily 67 per cent of' mon agreed. The survey revealed that mon are alsa mare iikeiy ta feel they wauld be perceivecd as handii- icappcd if they wore a hear- iingaid. If yau do have a hearing prablemn, there are a variety ai aptians, whcn fittcd prap- erly and warn on a regular hasis, thiat are perfect for- yau. Whicther yoir are imast canccrned \with thle appear- ance, tcchnaology or price of a, cari ng aid, il s i mplorî alt Io choosc a hecarinîg aid tui liest lils yoir ineeds and ta wark clo)sely with your auidiologist or hecaring aid dispenser ta adjust fthe hear- ing aid so it's caiartable f'or you. Subscribe to' The Orono W..eekly Times ORONO WEEKLY TIMES (905) 983-5301 Business Cards, Envelopes, Letterheads, Flyers, Newsletters Full Colour Printing BALLS RADIO & T.V. REPAUR REPAIRS TO MOST MAKES STEREOS, COLOUR AND B&W T.V.s AND V.C. R. s P.O. 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