There are a number of important legislative income tax and non-income tax changes that need to be considered this year not least of which is the BC Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA). The income tax reporting rules for trusts have been deferred to the end of next year which is a little reprieve but will need to be attended to before the end of 2023. You may think that some of these changes don’t apply to you, however I would urge you to read on as you may find that you are caught under some of these changes and in some cases, a penalty for not attending to these changes can be significant. All of this comes in the midst of significant interest rate hikes and a general cost of living increase that is impacting everything from food to fuel. Please take the time to read our newsletter and contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.
On the more positive side of the ledger, we are excited to welcome 9 new staff members starting in January 2023. These include co-op students, Angela Charvensym, Jason Huang, Oliver Su, Christian Vathyam and Megan Wong as well as CPA students Amy An, Racquel Lau and Julianne Yu. In addition, Michael Watts will be joining our audit division as a Senior Accountant. As I write this, we are underway with our Annual United Way campaign which involves all of our partners and staff with games and a silent auction. This is our 31st year of being involved with United Way and we are hoping to raise more than $20,000 this year to help United Way carrying out their valuable activities. For the first year since 2019, we will be holding our in-person staff Christmas party in early December. For 2020 and 2021, we held this virtually on ZOOM while the pandemic was in full swing, however we are all looking forward to the in-person venue.
As in previous years, we annually make donations to three deserving charities at this time of the year. For this year we have made donations to the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and the Salvation Army Harbour Lights. As most of you know, our office is now fully open and we are able to meet you either in our offices or virtually if you prefer. From everyone at the Rolfe Benson team, we wish you the very best in the upcoming holiday season and remind you to reach out to any of us with questions you may have related to our newsletter.