Business TheReyiew Wednesday, February 19,1992 — A24 CSBA meeting fo find directio Tuesday will be a tuming point for the Central Saanich Business Association, president Garry Ben- tham says. About 90 association members were sent a questionnaire recently which posed 14 questions, includ- ing whether members want the association to cease functioning. Tuesday evening in Saanichton the membership will be asked if the business association should continue operating and if so, what its function in the community will be. “If they participate there will be an association. If not, there won’t be one,” Bentham said. He said the membership needs to expand and the membership needs to become positively moti- vated. “With numbers you can get things motivated and get things done,” Bentham said. The current association is about five years old, although it evolved from the older Brentwood Bay Business Association and a Keat- ing Industrial Park lobby group. Bentham says a past problem is a perception that business owners have suffered for taking positions regarding municipal issues, like the Brentwood Lakes Golf Course Active market Greater Victoria’s real estate market remained active last month, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board. The board reports there were 624 sales in January valued at $110.9 million, compared with 550 sales in December last year and 437 last January. The board says the median price for single family homes was $185,000 last month. In December it was $187,000, and last January it was $157,000. On the Peninsula, there were 21 sales in Central Saanich valued at $4.3 million, for a median price of $214,000. In North Saanich, there were 20 sales with a value of $4.7 million, and a median price of $235,000. There were 17 sales in Sidney worth $3.1 million, for a $174,000 median. Erosion conirol gets 92 funding Funds are included in the 1992 budget to correct erosion in Cen- tral Saanich’s Saanichton Bay Park, which is threatening one of the Water’s Edge condominiums. The erosion is affecting the settlement of one of the condo- minium buildings next to the park, strata council solicitor Glen Craw- ford told council in a letter received Feb. 3. Although the strata council and the municipality are already coop- erating on the problem, Crawford asked council to ensure the work would be done in 1992. Municipal engineer Al Mackey said the municipality had retained a surveyor, which is the first step to repairing the problem. The work is in the 1992 budget, he added. Ald. Arlene Box noted the work cannot be done in the middle of winter. Council agreed to send a letter to Crawford detailing municipal plans to deal with the erosion. Hungry robber About $60 worth of frozen food, including meat items, were stolen from a freezer inside an unlocked garage in the 7600-block West Saanich Road, Feb. 13-14, Central Saanich police said. proposed for Maber Flats. “When a person has that ele- ment of fear then the true voice cannot function,” Bentham said. As a realtor, Bentham says he lost about $20,000 worth of business as a direct result of the associa- tion’s pro golf course position. “Tt?s very scary when you stand up as president (of the association) then you are attacked for making remarks,” Bentham said. The business association’s newsletter, the Enterpriser, cares front-page stories asking: “Do we need a business association in Central Saanich?” and “What do you want the business association to do for you?” Bentham says some perceive the association as a social meeting place to network and meet others in business. He is comfortable with that, providing there are enough mem- bers to organize events and keep the organization operating. Bentham hopes there will be an election of officers at Tuesday’s meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. in Colombo’s. Recently, the association dis- cussed the idea of the business association becoming a “wing” of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Bentham said that idea has some merit but most members at a November meeting said Central Saanich needs its own voice because it has its own issues, he said. The association spent December organizing its annual Santa Comes To Brentwood campaign. The January meeting was bypassed and Bentham hopes for a good reorganizational meeting Tuesday night. “We ask that all current or prospective members attend the meeting ready to discuss the role the association has played in the past and the role that the members want the association to play in the future,” Bentham said. Loose packages of cigarettes were the target when thieves threw an automotive 12-volt battery through the front window glass of the Save On Gas station in the lf Thieves heave big car battery 6400-block Pat Bay Highway. Central Saanich police said about $300 worth of smokes were stolen, along with a small amount of change, about 2:40 a.m. Feb. 8. Moore, Roberts & Co. CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Accounting & Auditing Services Busines & Computer Consulting Income Tax Preparation & Planning REVENUE CANADA AUTHORIZED E FILE PREPARER Phone: 656-5547 WHAT LINE DO | DEDUCT PET FOOD UNDER? (written by Richard Flader and Terry Greene, partners of Flader & Greene, Chartered Accountants In Sidney, B.C.) It seems that one of the most constant taxpayer quests is the effort to make household expenses deductible. Whether the costs be property taxes, renovations or even milk biscuits for that “home security system” (AKA ‘FIDO’) there are no end to the compelling arguments that accountants hear each year to justify these expenses. The cold hard facts of life are that over the last few years Revenue Canada has significant- ly tightened up on the situations where these types of deductions can be claimed. For 1991 the rules for employees have been revised to bring them more in line with self-employed individuals. To deduct office in the home expenses you must fall within one of the following categories. The home office must be your principal place of work OR must be used on a regular and continuous basis for meeting clients, customers or patients. The office must consist of one or more rooms which are set up exclusively for business purposes. If you fall within these guidelines you can deduct a reasonable portion of the operating expenses of the house. Although it may be possible to claim capital cost allowance as well this is a deduction with potential pitfalls best discussed with a professional tax advisor. The basis for determining a reasonable portion of expens- es is usually the area of business space occupied compared to the total square footage of the house. Common areas such as hallways and bathrooms can be excluded from the total. The expenses which self-employed individuals normally include in this calculation are utilities, insurance, property taxes, mortgage interest and specific repairs for the office space area. Major renovations constitute capital items and usually are not deducted since this can have implications when the home is sold. Employees are restricted to deduction of electricity, heating and maintenance costs. Once an overall total for home offices is calculated the claim is restricted to the net income from the business of employment. Any unclaimed expenses can be carried forward to be deducted from income from that same business or employment in future years. Many employees who were able to deduct home office expenses in 1990 may find that they do not qualify under the new rules. For those who do qualify there is a substantial “win” resulting from the fact that annual expenses which would have been incurred in any event have now become a tax deduction. Finally, to answer the burning question, there are no circumstances we can forsee which would require the acquisition of a pooch as protection for the home office. Pet food will continue to be a non deductible expense for the forseeable future. Fax: 656-2383 #200-2377 Bevan Ave., Sidney V8L 4M9 RRSP, TOM FITZGERALD 388-4234 Va Call Your Professional Advertising Representative Today! CORRIE MOROZOFF 656-1151 The It’s smart to invest in an one can be confusing: 1! help you find the RRSP that best fits your needs. 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