<+__Castégat News — 1or20. 1s eileen ern ein e instanced saaineniganptage ae Tax discounters BUSINESS DIRECTOR come under fire By DAVE BLAIKIE Press OTTAWA — Someone in need of quick eash will walk into a tax rebate office this spring, probably an H R Block or BenTax outlet, and write a small, unwitting chapter in Canadian social history. The person, probably poor and probably a woman, will be the millionth individual in a single tax year to sign over a tax refund at a discount. Sixty per cent of tax discount clients have incomes of $8,000 or less. Eighty per cent are women. The poverty line for a family of three is $16,000. Only 7,000 Canadians went to tax discounters in 1979, the first year discounting was regulated federally. Since then it has become a multimillion-dollar business. The total climbed to 15,000 in 1980, 30,000 in 1981, 61,000 in 1982, 153,000 in 1983, 380,000 in 1984, 505,000 in 1985, 720,000 in 1986 and 880,000 in 1987 Marion Clark, a Consumer Affairs Department expert, says it appears certain the figures will top a million for the first time this year. Three of every four taxpayers get some cash back each year from Revenue Canada. A cheque usually arrives about eight weeks after an income tax return is dropped in the mail Discounters cut the waiting time to almost nothing for a price. Legally, a discounter can keep 15)per cent of a refund up to $300. Beyond that the limit is fiv, per cent, and the fee must include preparation of the tak return. The average refund processed by H R Block, by far the country’s biggest discounter, is $740 for the taxpayer and $67 for the discounter. LITTLE CHOICE To those starved for cash — students, single mothers, people out of work — discounters can be hard to resist. Bare cupboards, pverdue bills, family needs can leave them little choice. And the deal doesn't seem all that bad until it is analysed. In the case of a $740 rebate that takes two months to process — the Revenue Canada average — a discounter collects interest at an annual rate of 60 per cent. If the rebate comes back in a month, which happens occasionally, the rate soars to 120 per cent. There is a Criminal Code limit of 60 per cent annually on interest rates but it doesn't apply to discounters. They are governed by the Tax Rebate Discounting Act, which rejects interest limits in favor of a fixed percentage. When first passed in 1978, the act let discounters keep 15 per cent of a rebate, no matter how large. Previous to that they could charge whatever they could get in many parts of Canada. The current rule, 15 per cent up to $300 and five per Order souvenir copies of the large, annual... Send to friends, Putting this keepsake special edition together Coupon to us. Send your order now! ASTLEGAR NEWS, BOX 3007, PRICES Wrapped and mailed for you MY NAME _ Mailed to ony ADDRESS point in Canada $2.00 ea. Mailed to the U.S or any foreign country ee relatives and business contacts Once again. the Castlegar News is publishing its Progress Edition. To be published in lote March. our news department personnel. production people and advertising staff people are To meet the projected demand for extra copies, the Castlegar News will publish a limited number of copies for readers to send out fo friends. relatives and business contacts OF course, the special edition will be included as part of the regular paper to all subscribers Aso service to readers wishing to send extra copies to others, an order blonk is printed below. The Castlegar News will wrap, address and mail gilt copies tor you it you mail this PD abetel CLIP AND MAIL THIS ORDERFORM TTT ] - PROGRESS EDITION”, (tnctone chock order with order) = sae ee: Tr itTitiiiiii iii cent beyond that, went into effect in 1985. The reforms have reduced criticism of discounting from a roar to a murmur, but there are still those who want the practice outlawed entirely. One of them is Havi Echenberg of the National Anti-Poverty Organization, “It's just so exploitive,” Echenberg argues. “The people most likely to use discountersare the people who can afford it least, Consumer Affairs estimates there are 1,400 tax discount outlets across Canada. About 1,000 are H R Block franchises, 150 are BenTax outlets and the rest are small, mostly local, operators. Arthur Arnott of Toronto, director of financial services for H R Block, says criticism of discounting has been slight since 1985. “It's much more difficult to make a profit now... . You have to be far more aware of the costs,” Arnott said in an interview. Where the business once focused heavily on welfare cases and the unemployed, it has changed significantly, he adds. “Many people are just normal customers. They come in to have their income tax done and find that for $10 or $15 more they can have the refund right away.” John Rodriguez, consumer affairs critic for the federal New Democratic Party, also wants discounters put out of business. Not even in the United States, the free. wheeling home of capitalism, is discounting allowed, Rodriguez notes. “People should be entitled to a full refund. Yet these sharks are out there charging them interest for borrowing their own money.” Rodriguez thinks Revenue Canada should let low-in. come taxpayers take their returns to the nearest government office and get an advance without charge. Echenberg likes Rodriguez's idea but wonders if it wouldn't be simpler for Revenue Canada to hire more staff at tax time and give priority to low-income people. “It wouldn't necessarily cost any more. They could just take on more people for a shorter period of time. If rebates were available faster, discounting wouldn't be an issue.” Consumer Affairs doesn’t take sides in the debate but it does distribute a brochure advising taxpayers of their rights. It makes these points: e Be sure discounters don't double-charge. The discount fee must include the cost of preparing a tax return © Get a copy of the calculations used to determine a refund. The discounter must provide one by law e Read the official assessment notice sent out after rebates are processed. If it is more than the discounter cal culated, the taxpayer gets the lion's share. The discounter can keep only the first $10 and any interest that may have accrued while the return was being processed. 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Don’t our “*Fast Print’ 191 Columbia 365-7266 Radiator —_______, RADIATOR REPAIRS — Aut Truck - — Industrial New & Used Parts Al Auto Wreck WILLIAMS | frou Avte Wrecking SNES 965-5161 MOVING & STORAGE 2337 - 6th Ave., Castlegar Invite you to call them for a free oving estimate. Let our eee ie rey sevsee wees noe | $Y Castlegar £5 made Williams the most respec ted name in the moving business Ph. 365-3328 Collect CONCRETE LTD. PIPELINE PITT RD. Aira seco CALL PLANT Used Appliances and Consignments = All Brand Names Serviced Coin-Operat: d Machines industrial Laundry CASTLEGAR & HEATING LTD. _ 1008 Columbia Avenve 345-9388 “"Wew & Used Furniture, pee = CASTLEGAR PLUMBING THE STORE THAT HAS IT ALL N ORAPERY! Gwen Kissock In-home di i AUCTION no charge, no obligation SERVICE Commercial or Residential 9:30-5:30 Tues. to Sot. Bus. 365-3515 Res. 365-6880 1434 Columbia Ave., Castlegar CHANG’S Nursery & Florists Ltd. A complete nursery stock! Tropical Plants Refrigeration 24 HOUR SERVICE Technical & Design Specialists... Travelling the World| Septic Service -OMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING SERVICE OPEN 7 DAYS A 2601 - 9th Avenue, Castieger COLEMAN COUNTRY BOY SERVICE Sump & Septic Tank Pumping PHONE 365-5013 3400 - 4th Avenue Cestlegor J Cal MONASHEE PASS een) Castlegar News 1988 Review, March 30, 1988 ”_ /EST KOOTENAY The Outlook is Positive Across our nation and in Southeastern B.C., our citizens have been bombarded over the past few years with the often grim statistics and reviews of a tight economy, high unemployment) and wildly contrary opinions of how we fare economically. That kind of.news is often hard to digest. The truth of the matter, however, is not that dull. Many great happenings are occurring and we should note the positive attitude of many people who are moving ahead and not remaining stagnant. We ‘live in an area filled with aggressive and progressive business people and individuals. We, at the Castlegar News, are proud to be part of the West Kootenay area and hope this annual Progress Edition demonstrates some ot the positive aspects ot recreation, education, business, industry, the arts and tourism in our region. Supplement to the eT Wednesday, March 30, 1988