Fe Business Two days fo file or miss deadline Don’t miss the April 30 dead- line for filing your 1991 income tax retum. Otherwise: If you Owe money, you will be hit with two penalties: five per cent of the tax owing plus one per cent amonth of the unpaid balance to a maximum of 12 months. If this is the second time in a four-year period you are filing late, the penalty rates are doubled, to 10 per cent plus two per cent a month up to 20 months. Even if you don’t have the money to pay the tax, at least send in your tax return by the deadline. You will be charged interest (10 per cent at present), compounded daily, on the tax owing, but you will escape the penalties. Then, before you start getting computer demands for the tax you owe, contact Revenue Canada to propose a payment schedule, ideally with post-dated cheques. Note that under the new “fair- ness package,” Revenue Canada may waive the penalties (but not the interest) if you file late for reasons beyond your control. If you expect a refund, the - sooner you file the sooner you will be paid interest (also 10 per cent, compounded daily) on your tefund. Now let’s review the answers to some of the most common ques- tions people are asking their local tax offices. —~‘Waiat are ihe tax CGRSeGuences if I rent part of my principal residence?” You should declare the rent received and may deduct propor- tional expenses. Get the Rental Income Tax Guide from your tax office for details and the form you must complete. You won’t have to pay tax on any profit when you sell your home — unless, for example, you make major Structural changes to accommodate tenants or claim depreciation (capital cost allow- ance) on the rented part. In that case, you will have to declare the gain relating to the rented part. “How do you claim medical expenses?” You may claim medical expenses for any 12-month period ended in 1991 above $1,570 or three per cent of your net income, whichever is less. “People often miss this thresh- old rule — it’s a different concept in the tax return,” said Maria Bender, public affairs officer with Revenue Canada. If husband and wife pay tax, the spouse with the lower net income will have a lower threshold amount and should probably make the Ciaim Tor both. However, at higher — income levels, more tax might be saved if the higher-income spouse claims all the medical expenses to reduce surtaxes. You may also claim medical expenses for a dependent you claim-on your return — see the Tax Adjustment paragraph at the end of the “Medical Expenses” Two industrial projects are planned for Central Saanich Two development projects for the Keating Crossroad industrial area came before Central Saanich April 21: one for an industrial complex and one for a warehouse. B.D. Management Ltd. plans to develop an industrial complex on the site of the present Wescraft window manufacturing: plant. Wescraft will continue to oper- ate in an expanded plant on the 8.3 acre site. The first phase of the project is a 22,306 square foot shop and a 2,726 square foot office and showroom area for Wescraft. The project will be built by Farmer Construction and financed by the Laborers Pension Plan of B.C A future phase will include space for small scale industry. B.D. Management Ltd. also sub- mitted an application to the agri- cultural land commission to allow a gravel parking lot on a 1.5 acre strip of agricultural land reserve property which adjoins the site. Council referred that application to the land commission without comment. East of the Wescraft site, Thrifty Foods plans a 79,405 square foot warehouse which will be the prin- cipal warehouse for the grocery chain. The complex includes 9,443 square feet of office space. Access will be off Keating Crossroad, down Butler Crescent and along Aggregate Place. The warehouse will be 38 feet in height, in order to accommodate Storage racks and forklifts. An application for the develop- ment permit was submitted by Wales McLelland Construction Company Ltd. of Vancouver. Ald. Clarence Bolt said he would like information on the traffic which will be generated by the warehouse operation. Council agreed and directed staff to prepare requirements for a traffic impact study. Council referred both the B.D. Management and Wales McLel- land development permit applica- tions to the advisory planning committee for comment. Ais, ae TOYS 2496 BEACON AVE. “BE A BACKYARD ) BIRDER...” With our colourful, easy-to-understand Bird Book and Feeder! Feeder attaches secruely to window sill! oops jou 9g Zan 98 +10" ty 655-7171 Weekdays: 9:30-5:30 p.m. THE BIRD FEEDER = Sun. Noon - 4:00 p.m. 0.0- 2 2 PPR vate. oe < _S section in the tax guide. “What should I do with this ‘INN-92” statement I got in the mail?” This shows the quarterly install- ment payments due March 15 and June 15. The figures are based on the tax you paid in 1990. You will get another statement this fall for your Sept. 15 and Dec 15 install- ments — based on your 1991 faxes. If you know your income tax this year will be lower than last 4 *° % year, you may calculate your own payments. However, if you miscal- culate you may be charged interest (compounded daily). If you use Revenue Canada’s figures, you will never have to pay interest. Home Buyers’ Plan work?” You may use up to $20,000 of your RRSP (money contributed for the 1991 tax year or earlier) to help buy or build a principal residence. You must take out the money by March 1, 1993, and complete the home purchase arrangements by Sept. 1, 1993. Then, over 15 years starting Dec. 31, 1994, you must repay the money to your RRSP. You may pay back more each year than one- fifteenth of the total outstanding. But if you pay less, the shortfall will be added to your income for the next year and taxed. “The last budget also changed ‘If you expect a refund, the sooner you file the sooner you will be paid interest (also 10 per cent, compounded daily) on your refund’ the capital gains exemption. What are the new tules?”’ : If you buy investment property (unless it’s used in an active business) after February of this year, it will not qualify for the $100,000 capital gains exemption. Use of the capital gains exemp- tion for the investment property bought before March this year will be pro-rated: (a) number of months after 1971 and before March, 1992, that you owned the wh > *: “e: x “How does the new RRSP 3% TheReview Wednesday, April 29,1992 — A25 *