A WORD FROM
LYNN
For Thursday
exercise sessions, please remember to bring an exercise mat
if you have one for the relaxation sessions at the end. The
School for the Deaf has very limited numbers of exercise
pads available to us!
BARBEQUE
COMING SOON
The Annual BBQ
will held be at the Malmo Community Centre at 11525 48
Avenue on Friday June 5 from 5 to 10 PM. It still is a real
bargain at $16.00 a ticket. There will be a choice of
chicken or steak along with ever popular beverages. Just
try to find a dinner with wine, so excellently prepared and
presented, anywhere else at this price!
Tickets are
available at exercise sessions from Jim Hammond at
780-437-0543 or from Donna Haugh at 780-463-0644.
TIS THE
SEASON... HO! HO! HO!
Time to empty
your pockets for the government! Some members have asked
whether their payments to CASE can be treated as a deduction
for income tax purposes. The answer is that it depends.
For the current tax season (2008 tax year) the answer is
that any membership fees paid to CASE are not deductible.
However, as CASE is a registered society, any cash or
cheque donations made to CASE can be claimed as a
charitable donation.
We published news
earlier this year that the province had passed changes to
provincial income tax legislation to provide for a
provincial tax credit to a maximum of $500 for fees paid for
a exercise programs that contributes to cardio-respiratory
endurance, muscle strength, endurance, flexibility or
balance. Current news suggests that you should not hold
your breath waiting for this positive news to be
implemented. News items have indicated that this program
was not funded in the budget. On inquiring to the
government, the official position is as follows as of April
21:
" Thank you
for your inquiry about a physical tax credit. Such a credit
has not been implemented. The Alberta government is looking
into the issue. Because it is a private member's bill,
there is no requirement for the government to proclaim it.
The bill is
being reviewed to define what constitutes an eligible
physical activity, and whether the cost of the credit would
be a good use of government money. "
The bottom line
is that if you want a tax deduction the only sure way of
doing it is to make a charitable donation to CASE. In the
interim, letters and calls to your MLA's supporting the
Exercise Tax Credit may be a positive initiative.
THE SOCIAL
CALENDAR
Jean Robb won the
free breakfast at the March social breakfast. The final
breakfast this spring is set for Wednesday April 29 at 9:00
AM at the South East Edmonton Seniors Centre 9350 82 Street
Edmonton. Construction of improvements to the SEESA is well
underway and the restaurant will close for the construction
period effective May 1.
ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING HELD
The annual
general meeting was held on March 23. The president noted
in his report the years of valuable service to CASE that had
been provided by Brian Jones who had decided not to continue
with his role coordinating Special Projects for the
Executive. At the meeting, Phil Bradshaw also announced his
retirement from the Executive which left the position with
'Hearts and Flowers' open. The elections were held and the
incumbents were returned to their present positions with the
addition of Hari Saraswat who volunteered to serve as the
new coordinator of the Hearts and Flowers activity.
After the meeting
adjourned, two speakers from the Investors Group, Vern
Gabert and Ralph Berke, spoke to the meeting about the
recent introduction of 'Tax Free Savings Accounts', known as
TFSA's, and the use of these accounts in personal financial
planning. Jack Barr won the free lunch compliments of
Investors Group. The following article on TFSA's was
developed from their remarks and from information published
by the Royal Bank, HSBC and the Government of Canada
websites.
TAX FREE
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
What is it?
Simply put, it is a savings account held at a financial
institution where an individual can save up to $5,000 per
year free of taxation of any income earned by the funds held
in the account. (This $5,000 per year TFSA limit is in
addition to any RRSP contribution limit you may have.) If
you cannot save to the maximum limit, your unused TFSA
contribution room is carried forward and accumulates for
future years. You can withdraw funds available in your TFSA
at any time for any purpose,— and the full amount of
withdrawals can be put back into your TFSA in future years.
The big
difference between a TFSA and a regular savings account is
that any income made from the funds held in the account can
accumulate free of tax. This contrasts with regular savings
accounts where any interest or other income that you earn
on the funds held in the account is fully taxable.
Another major
difference is that, depending where, and how, a TFSA is
established t he account may be used to hold stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, guaranteed investment certificates or other
financial assets as well as cash in the account. Again, any
income or capital gains made on these investments will be
tax free when withdrawals are made from the account. (It
should be noted that investments held in a TFSA are similar
to those held in an RRSP in that while income is not
taxable, investment losses are not deductible against other
income. This has been a painful lesson in the last year...)
How does a
TFSA relate to pensions and RRSP's? A pension, such
as the Canadian Pension Plan, generally provides for an
ongoing stream of income for the life of the pensioner. A
registered retirement savings plan encourages the individual
to save for retirement by allowing contributions (within
defined limits) to be deducted from current income. All
interest and other investment income made within the RRSP
is not taxed until funds are withdrawn from the RRSP. Any
withdrawals from the RRSP are fully taxable as part of your
income in the year that the money is taken out.
The assumption
behind an RRSP is that you will be contributing to the plan,
and receiving tax deductions, when your income is higher
than it will be after retirement. It is assumed that your
income will be lower after retirement and you will be paying
a lower rate of taxes when the funds are taken out and
used.
In most people's
cases, this theory is likely to be valid. However, some
individuals may have pensions that generate a stream of
revenues which result in taxation at as high a rate as when
they were working. In these case, when the funds are
withdrawn, the tax man will gain back all of the initial
deductions made on contributions as well as the taxes that
were deferred on the investment revenues that were made
within the RRSP. (Another critical assumption is that the
rates of taxation do not increase between the time that
funds were put into the RRSP and the time when they are
withdrawn. If tax rates increase, the taxpayer might be
liable for more taxes than would have been paid at the time
of the initial contributions.)
If your income is
likely to be taxed at as high a rate after retirement as it
was before retirement putting money into a TFSA looks really
appealing. The contributions will have been taxed before
they went into the account. However, there is no taxation
on the eventual withdrawal of the money or any income or
capital gains that it was able to earn within the account.
TFSA earnings and
withdrawals are not included as income for tax purposes, so
they don’t affect your eligibility for income-tested
government benefits and tax credits like Old Age Security
(OAS) or the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit.
If you have a
registered Retirement Income Fund (RIF), you are required to
withdraw a minimum amount every year. If you don’t need all
of your RIF withdrawal or pension income to cover your
living expenses, you can contribute the excess to a TFSA
where your funds can enjoy tax-free compound growth.
Where are
TFSA's offered? You are likely to be able to set up
a TFSA at any financial institution in Canada. The cost of
setting up and maintaining a TFSA account may vary among the
various banks, investment dealers, insurance companies and
so on.
Who is a
TFSA of interest to? Essentially, everyone who has
a savings account (outside an RRSP) should consider opening
a TFSA if you access the funds in your savings account a
maximum of once a year or even less frequently. All
interest or other returns on your savings will be exempt
from taxation. If you have long term savings goals, this is
a good account to build your savings.
A points to note
is that you must keep the maximum contribution levels in
mind. An overcontribution to the account will trigger nasty
taxes against an over-contribution. You are limited to
withdrawals only once a year although it appears the number
of deposits is not limited.
More information is available
from internet pages including the "Government of Canada Tax
Free Savings Account" at
http://www.tfsa.gc.ca/
and
http://www.tfsa.gc.ca/tfsaseniors-eng.htm
These pages can access a Tax-Free Savings Account calculator
to estimate TFSA savings amounts and copies of a brochure
are available from the Department of Finance or Service
Canada.
Examples of internet
information include pages at Royal Bank:
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/taxfreesavings/tfsa-waystouse.html
and the
HSBC Bank:
http://investdirect.hsbc.ca/accounts/en/tfsa_overview
HEARTS AND
FLOWERS
If you are aware
of any member who has taken ill, has been confined to their
home, or has been hospitalized, please e-mail this
information to: info@edmontoncase.org or call Hari Saraswat
780-440-9336, Barry Latham 780-452-2611 or Glen Gregory
780-434-3336.
WE HAVE OUR
UPS AND DOWNS... THE 2009 CASE WEIGHT CHALLENGE
The April weigh
in has been completed and we are losing! The weight lost
since January by 14 participants totals 32.9 pounds and
weight gained by 12 participants totals 31.4 pounds. As of
the April weigh in the leaders in loss are Phil Bradshaw
(-7.4) and Sig Dietze (- 6.6). The final weigh-in for 2009
is coming on Tuesday May 19.
RESEARCH
REVEALS HOW STEM CELLS BUILD A HEART
An article published in the
Harvard University Gazette in November 2006 discusses recent
research on stem cells' potential use in the treatment of
heart disease:
(http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/11.30/99-heartcells.html)
.
The article by William Cromie
of the Harvard News Office is summarized below:
"Master cells
that give rise to the three main cell types in a human heart
have been discovered by Harvard Stem Cell Institute
scientists working independently at two Harvard-affiliated
hospitals. Together they found that a single progenitor
stem cell differentiates into cells that cause a heart to
beat, that make up its internal surface, and form its blood
vessels.
"The master cells
arise during an early stage of embryo growth.
As-yet-undiscovered signals then stimulate them to form the
main building blocks of the heart, the first identifiable
organ in the development of human life. The newly
identified progenitor cells "offer new prospects for drug
discovery and suggest a novel strategy for regeneration of
cardiovascular [heart and blood vessel] tissue," Until now,
it was believed that the three sets of heart cells developed
from separate ancestors. "Now we have a new model for heart
development in which a single multi-potent cell can
diversify into three lineages,"
" ...in 2005 a
team led by Kenneth Chien found the same heart stem cells in
newborn rats, mice, and humans. These cells were known to
be involved in constructing tissues on the right side of the
heart. Pursuing this lead, Chien and his group were
eventually able to generate multi-potent master cells from
mouse embryos, which parent all three cell types. Meanwhile,
.a second team led by Stuart Orkin and Sean Wu,
independently pursued the same goal.
"They uncovered
the progenitor cells that morph into muscle cells that move
blood and line the chambers of the left side of the heart.
In Wu's words, "We both have found the rare population of
master cells that gives rise to the building blocks that
form a functional heart."
"The results,
Chien says, "suggest an alternative strategy for achieving
the regeneration of distinct heart components that are
affected in diverse forms of degenerative heart disease."
Reinvigorating failing hearts with stem cells has been
proposed many times before. But animal experiments reveal
that stem cells taken directly from embryos can grow without
proper control and cause tumours. Stem cells that have
already undergone development into heart progenitor cells
are less likely to end up in tumours, researchers believe.
The new experiments indicate that master cells can be
cloned to create a supply of spare parts for the heart that
are free of the problem of tumour formation. Medical
experts have dreamed about having a supply of cells that
might be coaxed into becoming working heart muscles,
pacemakers, and blood vessels as undamaged as those in
healthy newborns. Maybe those dreams are now closer to
coming true.
