Archive for April, 2008

With income tax season winding down, planning for future tax savings may not be high on your agenda. But in our last federal budget, the government introduced a couple of new ideas that will protect you from taxes in the future.

Though it hasn’t received a lot of attention, the introduction of Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) may be the biggest change that was introduced in the last federal budget. Starting in 2009, every adult with a Tax Free Savings Account will be able to put $5,000/year ($10,000/year per couple) into an investment of their choice and earn the income from it tax free forever.

You will be able to take money out of your Tax Free Savings Account (original investment and earnings) whenever you want for whatever you need. You can take the money out to help buy a house, pay for university or just let the savings grow for retirement. One of the best things about these accounts is that any amount withdrawn from an individual’s TFSA in a year will be added to that person’s “contribution room” for the following year.

The Tax Free Savings Account will keep more of your money in your pocket, right where it belongs.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt and I welcome your feedback. Please feel free to call 975-6133 or visit my offices any time during business hours. My Saskatoon office is open five days a week. The Humboldt office is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

I’d like to welcome you back to my weekly report on parliamentary business. The column took a few months off over winter, but watch for it in your local paper every week from now on.

If you have followed my column over the past few years you might know that I once had my car stolen from outside of my MP office. A joy rider took my car for a day and then returned it a block away with a smashed window. (The thief also took my jean jacket and my CD collection.) Therefore, I was personally very pleased when Prime Minister Harper announced a new strategy to target auto theft.

The Prime Minister announced new legislation that will make it a crime to:

• Alter, destroy or remove a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
• Knowingly, sell, give, transfer, transport, send or deliver goods that have been acquired criminally.
• Possess property known to be obtained through crime for the purpose of trafficking.

In addition, the new legislation grants the Canada Border Services Agency the authority to identify and prevent stolen property from leaving the country.

These new provisions in the law are specifically targeted to stop gangs that export stolen automobiles from Canada. The law may not stop every car theft, but it will stop some of the car theft gangs, and that is something that all honest Canadians should be proud to support.