Canadian Capitalist

The minority Tory government sprung a Halloween surprise saying that it will tax distributions by newly formed income trusts, specifically targeting the recent conversion of Telus (TSX: T) and BCE (TSX: BCE). Existing trusts have a four-year grace period after which they will be subjected to the new tax as well.
I predicted that the government [...]

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As you can imagine, we are very careful about spending money. We clip coupons from the Sunday paper, buy necessities in bulk when they are on sale, brown bag our lunches, find ways to save on recurring expenses and avoid a daily latte habit. Sounds great, right? But then, I go out and buy a [...]

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I picked up this book on the recommendation of a reader and I am glad I did. The author, John Lawrence Reynolds, delivers a scathing criticism of the investment industry in Canada for being more interested in lining its pockets than its fiduciary responsibility towards the average investor. The subtitle of the book Why Almost [...]

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Canada Savings Bonds are currently on sale and offer 3% for the first year. The Premium bonds, which can be redeemed once a year on the anniversary of the issue date or the following 30 days, pay 3.15%, 3.25% and 3.35% during the first three years.
I have never purchased a Canada Savings Bond and most [...]

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I get a fair amount of search hits from Google and sometimes I wonder why Google them my way. Here are some recent search hits that I am fairly sure did not get much help on this website:

Canadian Tax on Bonuses: A bonus is taxed exactly like your regular salary.
Dividends vs. bank interest Canadian Tax: [...]

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Garth Turner, currently in the news for being kicked out of the Tory caucus, used to write a weekly column on personal finance. Over six years worth of columns are archived on his website and not to pick on Mr. Turner, but the columns provide a perfect illustration on why you shouldn’t pay any attention [...]

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I have to confess that I did not fare too well in Suze Orman’s test of Homeowners insurance smarts. I did know that our policy is adjusted for inflation, offers replacement cost for property and personal liability coverage. I was still not sure if we have guaranteed replacement coverage for the dwelling, so I will [...]

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Among a handful of ETFs that Claymore Investments recently introduced is a dividend ETF: Claymore CDN Dividend and Income Achievers ETF (CDZ) that seeks to replicate Mergent’s Canadian Dividend and Income Achievers Index. Another dividend ETF that traded already on the TSX - iShares CDN Dividend Index Fund (XDV) - is based on the Dow [...]

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Aeroplan has recently announced some changes to its loyalty program. The loyalty plan members need to make note of two points that negatively affect them:

At least one transaction in the last 12 months to avoid expiry of all miles in the account.
Miles accumulated on or after January 1, 2007 will expire in seven years.

Aeroplan also [...]

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RE/MAX Canada expects the housing market to moderate in 2007 due to a surge of new listings. Nationally, unit sales are expected to moderate slightly from the record pace of the past two years. The price of an average home, however, is expected to increase 5% to a record $290,000. Calgary and Edmonton are predicted [...]

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