ss.
Castlégar News 40:11 2. 1909

Many prefer fee to confusion

Editor's note: An army of tawyers, accountants and

tax preparers profit from the confusion clouding income

While these groups aie often criticizéd, millions of

Canadians would rather pay their fees than face tax time
alone.

By KAREN LEWIS
The Canadian Press
Wolfe Goodman is one of Canada's most senior tax

lawyers, an amiable man-who dispenses high-priced tax ad
vice to the rich and powerful

But Goodman hasn't actually filled out a tax return for

years, Not even for himself

I can honestly say it just got too ce

nplicated,”* he

tells a visitor to his 22nd-floor office overlooking Toron
to's financial district

to asl

When the intricacies of tax shelters forced Goodman
k someone else'to prepare his tax return, he joined

millions of Canadians who fuel a burgeoning industry

The army of tax preparers, accountants and lawyers

attracted by a business that repels many people are a special
breed

People in and near the industry cite numerous reasons

for enlisting: greed, power that comes with knowledge, in.

tellectual challenge
prepa

even summers off in the case of tax
s, the industry's foot soldiers.
Whatever the motivation, Canadians want their help.

SIMPLICITY GONE

It was so simple in 1917 wher Canada’s income tax was
first introduced to help pay for mounting First World War
bills. You told Ottawa your income and it figured out the
tax.

No grappling with unwieldy tax credits, No stress
filled sessions with tax forms and guides. No need for
professional help

All that’s changed

More than* one-third of Canada’s- tax filers pay
someone to prepare their return, suggests a coming study
for the Canadian Tax Foundation by Francois Vaillan

court, a University of Montreal economist

The Outlook is Positive

Castlégar News

Supplement to the

The West Kootenay is. an area continuing to progress

economically

tn 1985, more than six million Canadians, oF 39 per
cent of tax filers, paid $426 million to have somebody else
prepare their taxes, Vaillancourt estimates

JOIN-THE CLUB

Jerry Dobbia, a stock 18-year-old Newfoundlander,
was one of those relying on help this year

Dobbin moved to Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe to get a
factory job and send money home to his family, but he
didn’t want to face his first tax return alone

“My old man’s down home, so he can’t do it for me,””
Dobbin ‘says in-a thick Newfoundland accent. ‘It’s a lot
éasier, no hassle.” ‘

That’s fine with Ruth Buckley, a small, tidy woman
Who manages an office of tax preparer H and R Block in
Cambridge, Ont; theone Dobbin visited

wittre his eyes glaze over, hers brighten as the talk
turns to taxes, *

Ten years ago, Buckley was a homemaker and part-
time bookkeeper who found herself preparing up to a

dozen tax returns forfamily and friends.

She signed up for an H and R Block course to find out
if she was missing any deductions for her husband, Ron,
who had his own business laying flooring and.tiles. H and R
Block hires its preparers from the 13-week basic course and
has three advanced courses.

"T got hooked on it as soon as I took the course,” says
Buckley, 46, just after completing a client’s return in less
than half an hour. **I really enjoyed it."*

She also enjoyed having summers at home with her
three children, including the youngest, Kelly, who was only
five then,

JUST LIKE CHESS

Her attraction to taxes would not surprise Goodman,
the sot B-year-okd kawyer whose of
fice is adorned with Thai and Canadian sculptures

“it has an intellectual fascination,”’ he says of a field
others have likened to a good game of ohess, ‘*It’s constan
tly changing.”

By The Canadian Press

Facts and figures on the tax system from a coming
study prepared by Francois Vaillancourt, an economist
at the University of Montreal

The study, for the-Canadian Tax Foundation in
Toronto, surveyed 2,040 Canadians in May and June
1986 about their 1985 tax returns. A survey sample of
this size is Considered accurate within two percentage
points, 19 times out of 20

The study suggested:

© More than six million Canadians, or, 39 per cent
of tax filers, paid $426 million to have somebody else do
their taxes. That compares with about 45 per cent in the

Study yields tax facts

United States, according to other studies.

©” 5.3 million Canadians, or 33 per cent of tax
filers, did their ow turns.

¢ 4.4 million, or 28 per cent, relied on a family
member or a friend to prepare their return without pay

Of those who paid someone else to do their tax
returns

* About 3.2 million, or 51 per cent, we
countants and paid an average $94

* About 2.2 million, or 36 per cent, went to tax
nd paid an average $59.

* About 800,000, or 13 per cent, went to another
individual and paid an average $17

preparing firms

1n-1949, the same'year- Goodman graduated from law
school, Canada enshrined a new Income Tax Act to replace
the ‘‘temporary”’ tax introduced in 1917

Today, the act has swollen to more than 3,000 pages of
grey prose and spawned a huge government bureaucracy

The taxation side of Revenue Canada, with a budget of
$889 million, employs 20,000 Canadians and adds another
8,000 to its payroll during peak season, from February to
June.

It has also produced a market for about 10,000 tax
practitioners — lawyers who look for holes that can be ex-
ploited in the act and accountants who apply. them — and
thousands of unregulated tax preparers. As well, there's a
spinoff for another industry, the book trade, as publishers

scurry 1o-have experts explain the esoteric tax sytem 10
average Canadians.

At tax time — January to April — 1,000 H and R Block
offices spring into action and the staff at Canada’s largest
firm of tax preparers swells to 7,500 from 600 year-round

This year, as Canadians relearn the rules thanks to
Finance Minister Michael Wilson's tax reform, tax
preparers expect business to boom

Revenue Canada said returns filed by early April
showed that about the same number of Canadians paid for
advice as in 1988, although easier returns tend to arrive fir
st

And while many Canadians may be confused by the
new forms, turning to someone else is no guarantee of ac
curacy

Last year, mistakes were found in three out of 10 for-
nis completed by someone other than the tax filer
everyone from a family member to a tax preparer, Revenue
Canada says

And the odds are against those who pick a fight with
the taxman. The courts rule in favor of Revenue Canada
about 70 per cent of the time, says spokesman Collette Gen-
tes-Hawn. Tax filers win 15 per cent of the decisions and the

Apni26, 199 Castlégar News”

A number of major construction projects that are
about to begin and the continuing secovery of existing in
dustries have led to growing optimism among the region's
. leaders that the lean years of the 1980s are finally behind us
<> Sometimes it's easy to overlook the positive things
that are happening around us everyday. With this in mind, the

rest area draw, she says

Northern ecology

Centre plans.
exhibits

By HE LEE
NEC Director
Nestled within the rugged mountain ranges of the
Selkirks lies a gallery pursuing a vision. The vision — to

porary and traditional artistic and cultural heritage.

The West Kootenay National Exhibition Centre
strives to achieve this vision by presenting exhibitions of
art, history and ethnology drawing upon international,
national and our own rich local resources.

Enthusiastic response has been experienced towar-
ds the school programs that have been developed to
complement a variety of exhibitions. During the past
year, 1,500 students from Castlegar, Trail, Nelson,
Rossland and the Slocan Valley participated in mask
making, printmaking, fibre, clay and many more ac-
tivities which were designed to encourage student in-
teraction with art and history exhibitions.

The NEC regards itself as a partner with other in-
dividuals and businesses encouraging tourists to enjoy
the magnificent resources of this region. Indeed, out-of

Castlegar News is proud to present its 10th annual Progress

Edition which demonstrates that we live in an area filled with

99) and
dividuals
We're proud to

positive aspects of

people and in

be part of the West Kootenay area and

to show our readers on the pages that follow some of the

recreation, education, business, in:

dustry, the arts and tourism in ourregion.

Rev

Upgrading
total $258

Airport

acelift/
expansion

Pulp Mill
spending
$90m this
decade

Resurgence
of University
presence in
Nelson:

Canadian International
College/ Nelson
University

Centre

to be protected,
Bouchard says

OTTAWA (CP) — A wide-ranging
federal environmental program to
protect the North's delicate ecology is
to be announced within months, En:
vironment Minister Lucien Bouchard
said

But Canada is going’ to start by
cleaning up its own garbage in the Ar
ctic this. summer, he told an inter
national group of students who are
participating in a marginal way in the
Icewalk polar expedition

“‘L assure you, the careless practices
‘Of the pasi will be stopped," he said

The Icewalk expedition is made up
of eight trekkers from seven codntries
who are skiing about 1,000 kilometres
tothe North Pole to draw attention to
Arctic and global pollution

Icewalk organizers have arranged to
fly the students to the North to study
the Arctic and its environment and tell
of the experience when they return to
their countries.

Bouchard told the studenis: “Lhe
governments of the world will not
achieve our objective of a restored Ar
ctic environment without hard work
and substantial investment."*

Canada’s first step in cleaning up the
Arctic will be to remove thousands ot
oil drums that have been piling up on
northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.1
since the Second World War. The
drums were used to transport heating
and transportation fuel'to remote out
posts.

The government has a responsibility
to clean up environmental mistakes,
Bouchard said

“This is particu
ctic, although th
mental damage is still quite scattered
Examples include derelict buildings,
land damaged by thoughtless use and,

in particular, abandoned oil drums

ly true in the Ar

obvious environ:

A code of standards is being
developed to govern the removal of
existing garbage and all future activity
in the Arctic, he said

The new policy ‘will ensure strict
environmental impact assessments are
conducted on any proposed develop-
ment activities or policies affecting the
Arctic.”

The Environment Department has
already started screening all Arctic ex-
peditions and visitors to northern
parks.1a.make sure they.won’t damage
the environment

The only thing they should leave
behind is footprints, the minister said

But Canada can’t do it alone, he
noted

Bouchard welcomed Finland's
initiative to establish an international
convention for the protection of the
Arctic. He also said he looks for closer
co-operation with the Soviet Union on
environmentalmatters and scientific
research

Canada plans.o increase its research
capability at a weather ‘station at
Mould Bay on Prince Patrick Island,
N.W.1

Scientific studies at Arctic weather
stations will also play an increasingly
significant role in warning the world of
changes in the ozone layer and global
warming trends, Bouchard said

The 22 students from 15 countries
will spend three weeks in the North
beginning Thursday when they fly
from Ottawa to Iqualuit, N.W.T

Fwo days later they will move to
Eureka on Ellesmere Island to conduct
their own environmental studies and to
learn how (o survive in the Arcite

There was concern about the eight
Icewalk trekkers Monday because they
hadn't made radio contact with their
Ottawa headquarters for eight days
But the team was located late Monday

Asteroid bypassed
Earth, NASA says

WASHINGTON (AP) An
asteroid big erroUgi To-wipe oUt cities
whizzed past Earth last month before
astronomers knew it was there,
showing how hard it is to forecast a
natural disaster from space, a NASA
scientist said

The asteroid flashed by Earth at a
speed of 74,000 kilometres an hour and
wasn’t even detected until days after it
became only a receding point of tight,
the U.S. National Aeronautics and
Space Administration announced.

Astronomers report the object
missed the Earth by about 800,00¢
kilometres — about twice the distance
betw the Earth and moon, In
cosmic terms, that’s considered a close
call

Had it hit Earth, the asteroid would
have created a crater the size of
Canada’s national-capital region and
spread destruction for 160 kilometres
in all directions. Other-etfects would
have been felt _fot thousands of
kilometres, said Bevan French, a scien
tist_in NASA's solar-system ex
ploration division

“The object would be packing the

quivalent_ of 40 billion tonnes of
ENE,‘ said trench: Fhat would be
equal to about 40,000 hydrogen bombs
all going off at the same time."

Henry Holt, a retired U.S
Geological Survey scientist working on
a NASA-funded project to track
asteroids that cross the Earth's orbit,
found the asteroid in photographs
taken almost a week after it flew past

French said the fact the asteroid,
called 1989FC, wasn't seen earlier is no
surprise.

These detections are made because
you can photograph a trail of light as it
moves against a background of fixed
stars,” said French

“That means the asteroid is moving
across your path and not on a collision
course

‘An asteroid that was heading right
for you would look just like another
small fined star and might be very dif
ficult to detect until it was too late to do
anything about it," he said

French said if T989FC had hit, “it
would be a very major catastrophe for
which we have had no-experience,

summer visitors. Our schedule of upcoming eventstof
fers something for everybody
We are delighted to be hosting the exhibition,

foster the creation and appreciation of our contem> ~

town guests comprise @ considerable proportion Of our

NEC EXHIBIT... A show on
Chilean art was one of the
many exhibits held at the West
Kootenay National Exhibition
Centre over the past year.

w

Unlike the Lilies: Doukhobor Textiles and Tools
(organized by the Provincial Museum of Alberta and
curated by Dorothy Burnham and David Goa) July 16 to
Aug. 27. Unlike the Lilies celebrates the rich textile
tradition of the Doukhobor community in Canada; a
rare opportunity to witness exquisite rugs, clothing and
household textiles and the fine craftsmanship involved
in the tools used for fibre preparation

Local artists John Hodges and Sheila Hogarth will
be featured June 8 to July 9. Many will be familiar with
the Kootenay landscapes of Slocan Valley watercolorist
Hodges and his recent work will include his exploration
of the human figure. Hogarth, a Rossland fibre artist,
experiments with a variety of fibre techniques to create
her unique collection of wearable art

September will be a chance to catch the recent
water¢olors and pastels depicting the Kootenays and
New Mexico by Robson artist Sandra Groepler

Especially for children — but grown ups will enjoy
is Once Upon A Time, Sept. 2940 Oct. 22. The
Vancouver Art Gallery has curated this exhibition
which provides a unique opportunity to focus upon
illustrations drawn from Canadian children’s literature

Encounter Zoom and Goldie and a host of other
characters from the creative world of some of Canada’s

most talented illustrators, inclugi Harrison, Ian
Wallace, Ken Nutt and Elizhbeth Cleaver, will be

ittoo

Accident
survey
conducted

OTTAWA (CP) — About 19 per
vent of adults had one or more acciden
{sin 1987, while nearly 24 per vent were
the victims of at least one crime, a sur
vey by Stati
People aged TS To 24 were most-at
risk of being accident or crime victims,
while people over age 65 had the lowest

es Canada suggests.

risk, the agency said ina report

The findings are based on telephone
interviews with 9,870 people across
Canada conducted in early 1988

The ageney—estinvates that 3.8
million people had at least one accident
serious enough to disrupt their normal
activities for at least half a day or to
result’ in out-ol-pocket expenses of
$200 or more

Motor vehicle accidents were the
most common, accounting foF one in
three accidents.

Accidents related to sports and
lesure activities accounted for 23 per
cent of cases, work-related accidents
for 21 per cent, accidents in the home
for 13 per cent and others for 10 per
cent

RISK HIGHER

People who regularly drink alcohol
were at higher accident risk than
teetotallers or occasional drinkers

The agency estimates that 4.8
million Canadians were victims of at
least one crime

The most common crime was
assault, with an estimated 1.4 million
incidents in 1987, the agency said

About 54 per cent of crimes were

personal — thelt, robbery, assault and

featured.

Adults better yet in shape because this show will be
hungt small peoples’ eye level. A host of activities are
planned for families and schools.

Sexual assault — while 39 per cent were

household crimes — break and enter,
vandalism and theft of motor vehicles

or household property

NOTICE

West vy Power is g its Castlegar office starting
Monday, May |. During renovations all normal services will be
provided at 958 Columbia Avenue, located directly across
Columbia Avenue from Hospital Hill.

To prepare for the move, the West Kootenay Power office will
be closed on Friday, April 28 and reopen May | in the new
location

Customers requiring services on Friday, April 28 are asked to
call our Trail office ot 368-9111 or 1-800-332-1292 toll tree

WEST KOOTENAY POWER

PUT A LITTLE
SPRING IN
YOUR MAZDA

After a long winter it's time to give your Mazda our
Spring treatment. Come in and get the Mazda Full
Circle Service and rest assured you're benefitting
from the expertise of factory-trained Mazda
technicians and the installation of only Genuine
Mazda Parts. Do it now, then you.and your prized-
possession can go and kick up your heels.

SCOPE TUNE-UP

Most Cars & Light Trucks

539.95

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Service

DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY . . . George and Mary Chigmaroff of
60th wedding anniversary on March 24. The
ottasion was marked by a dinner with family and close friends

Winlaw celebrated the!

at the Doukhobor Village Restaurant.

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B.C. spends less
on hospitals, more
on doctors: BCHA

VANCOUVER (CP) British
Columbia spends less on hospitals and
more on doctors’ services than any
other province in Canada, according
to statistics compiled by the B.C
Health Association:

for every-B-C. resident, the provin- _ Says
gial government spends $84 less than
the Canadian average and $161 less
than what the Alberta government
spends on hospitals, says a health-care
summary. released Friday by the
association

But payouts to doctors are $52

higher-per-person-than_the-national Vancouver area

Task force seeks
input on seniors

VANCOUVER (CP) Health
Minister Peter Dueck says a four
member task force will tour the
province asking British Columbians to

share their ideas on how to improve the

average, said the report

It said a surplus of doctors in the
province is largely responsible for that
increased Cost. The issue **must be ad
dressed inspite of the government loss
of billing numbe? control,” the report

The provincial gove
tions on doctors’ billing numbers were
overturned by the B.C
peal last summer

billing metlicare to cut down on the
number of physicians practising in the

8 and ending in Victoria June 22

Afterward, the committee will make
recommendations to the government
‘on how to develop services for seniors

into the next century

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lives of seniors.

The announcement tollow a con
Mitment made in this year's throne
speech and provincial budget

I he committee will be co-chaired by
Bea Holland and John Mackay, with
Jane Rogers and Dune Russell as panel
members. Dueck said all four have ex
tensive experience in health care,
recreation and community service

The committee will visit 21 com
munities, beginning with the Van
couver suburb of White Rock on May

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