PAGE 16, WEDNESDAY. JULY 31, 1985, WHITBY FREE PRESS SPC»OW wants government to ban tax discounmg ziebcorte V..P. Car Care. A 17-step auto maintenance program that thoroughly cleans these areas: " Exterlor: High pressure wash and protessionally applied Liquid Diamond' wax. " Interlor: Upholstery and carpet are power vacuumed and chemically shampooed. " Engine Compartmflnt: Degreased. " Trunk: Power vacuumed. Now is asmart time tocomle to your Ziebart dealer and ~ ~ 3 take advantage of this SpeciaIl savings. ReguIarly il29. Of fer ends 0000/00 Now only OFFER VALID ONLY UNTIL AUG. 31185 APPEARANCE & PROTECTION SERVICES 440 HOPKINS ST. WHITBY Small Horse (~iJ Trading Experts We're taking trades tili the lot is full with every Stellar SL Model Starting ai -, plus P.D.I. & f reight Starting ai 'Q » --plus P.D.I. & freight FOLLOW THE MAP TO IAiA XI, 2930 BAYLY ST. E.Z- (1/ Mile East of Harwood Ave.) 0 « BAYLY ST E. By JAN DODGE Free Press Staff The Social Planning Council of Oshawa- Whitby has asked for a ban on tax rebate discounting, a practise wbereby a person may seli bis expected tax refund for a portion (usually 15 per cent) o! ils value. in a letter to Micbael Cote, Minister of Con- sumer and Corporate Affaira, Katbleen Cbung, president of tbe council said "tbe current system of tax rebate discounting is enriching corporations and it would appear much of the resulting profit may be leaving tbe country." In an interview witb Cbung, sbe said a new induatry arose after child tax credits became available. Tbe child tax credit, originaily intended as a ",lump-aum, income related, social assistan- ce payment" has now become a source of in- come for two major companies: H & R Block and Ben Tax, both owned by American parent companies. Togetber tbey do 80 per cent of Canada's tex rebate discounting, ac- cording to a discussion paper on tex rebate discounting from the Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affaira. (Tax discounting is prohibited in the U.S., with discounts subject to a $500 fine.) Also from that paper, in 1984, H & R Block did over baîf of ail discoun- ting transactions \in Canada. In 1983, H & R Block had 29 discoun- ing offices and by 1985 tbey had over 8M, in- dicating tbe success of the practise. Ben Tax bas been in tax rebate discounting since 1979. Sixty-two per cent of tbe people wbo use this service had an annual income below $8,000, half of tbem women and over hall the women bad an annuai income below $2,0w, four-flftbs of wbom claimed a Child Tax Credit, according to a goverrnment analysis of tbe 1984 discounting market. Thus a large propor- tion of tbis market is dependant on tbe Cbild Tax Credit. Since this group of low income people aiso bas a lot of trouble getting boans from hanks, tbey "seil" tbeir rights to tbeir Cbild Tax Credit for 15 per cent of what tbey bope to get, so tbat tbey may have faster access to the money and for the service of making out the form. if it takes tbe gover- nment two months to procesa this tax credit, tbey have tben paid the discounter what amoun- ts to 90 per cent interest per annum. "This soun- ds like usury," Chung said. The planning council isi also recommending "lbanks and credit unions be given incen- tives to offer low- income people loans at COME TO OUR normal consumer loan rates," and speeding Up the processing of retur- ns "to ensure two-week processing of ail simple returns. " "If a discounting company can, witb just a phone cali, check to see if a customer is in arrears on bis taxes, and find out right away, why can't a simple return be processed in two weeks?" Chung said. The council is aiso suggesting the Child Tax Credit be paid in two or three instalîmen- ta, estimnated on the basis of the past year's tax return, and adjusted at tax timne. "This way," Chung said, "the benefit is In 1984.. Bell Canada paid more than $500,000 in taxes to Whitby in 1984 as a resuit of its local telecommunications op- erations. In addition. Bell spant $910,000 in 1984 to maintein an upgrade local telephone service. The utility plans to spend an additional $696,000 in this area this year, the companys On- tario Region public af- faira office said in a written statement. Last year, the telephone company in- stalled 600 additional telephone lines in Wbit- by and relocated its feeder main on Brock St. N. They also in- stalled services in the 11? 2 'j Il Y Just in Time for Bock To School THURSDAY, AUGUST 1sTr '85, We're the New Kid in Town T MuiU5T lst - 3rd New Born Io Suze 14 Hand Made 11cms Chjîdrens Wear &Accessories 69 Baldwin St., Brooklin 655-8809 time ... the amount paid will be amaller, and people will be more willng to wait for It. "We are basically concerned that the most benefit go to tbe people who need it most," she said. "IWe are not on a witcb hunt against cor- porations. They are providing a service. We would like to see the problem iooked after in a different way. "A lot of people are in need in tbe Oshawa- Whitby area. A lot of kids are going hungry to school. A lot of mothers are getting vaiium prescribed wben wbat they need is a square meal." Somerset His, Town Place and Costain Estates subdivisions. This year tbey intend to instaîl another 640 Unes of remote digital switcbing equipment and instali facilities for tbe Cozmec and Fallingbrook sub- divisions. In 1984, Bell paid $534907.37 in taxes to Whitby. Tbey paid $25,296 in real estate taxes; $5,728.57 in business taxes; and gross receipt taxes o! $503,882.80. They also estimate that gross receipt taxes will reach $557,095 in 1985. The gross receipta tex is a levy of five par cent of ail telecom- munications revenue earned by Bell Canada in Ontario the previous year and is apportioned to each excbange based on the numnber of telephones in use. In the Osbawa area, Bell employa 605 people witb an annual payroll of $17.9 million. Bell had 14,744 customera in its Witby exchanges at the end of 1984. The tex revenue paid by Bell Canada is shared by the Town o! Whitby, the Region of Durham and the Durham Board o! Education. CA IUS l.A 8316 Bell's taxes came to over $503,000 G urtIis (ematre Hy. 2 - -30 % SUMMER CLEARANCE ON ALL NURSERY STOCK -LOCAL PRODUCE READY TOMATOES, SWEET CORN NAND MORE... -ORDER YOUR FIREWOOD NOW!