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The following Economy In Brief has just been posted on the Finance Canada Site.

Overview

In the third quarter of 2006 real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.7% following a 2.0% gain in the second quarter.

Real final domestic demand growth slowed to 2.8% in the third quarter from 3.6% in the second quarter. Residential investment declined 8.2%. Growth in government spending on goods and services slowed, mainly reflecting a winding down of census-related expenditures. Also, business inventory accumulation weakened.

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Suppose you have an accounting blog .. like .. HART (1-800-HART) … and you want to show off your accounting knowledge ….

READER: Dear HART … I just purchased a new car that was financed over 3 years, for $25,000.00 .. I put down $3,000.00 which included the first month’s loan payment of $500.00. What’s my journal entry?

HART (1-800-HART): Congratulations on your new purchase .. I hope you have many years enjoyment with your new car. Here’s how to “book” the journal entry into your accounting records.

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For those easily amused .. there is a button in the top right of my sidebar .. called .. Surf the HART way

You probably noticed it, because it’s been there for about 11 months now. It’s a random script that will select a random category of this blog and you can randomly read various topics by pure chance. I have a few category names that have no entries, so there may be a few error messages during your travels .. just click the button once again!

It’s tax time here and I have many ways to keep track of clients who come in and bring me their records and income tax information. I have to … I do a lot of Income Tax Preparation during the months of March and April and well, actually all the way through until June 15th - which in Canada, is the deadline for individuals with business income.

When I meet with a client, I try to take notes. For every client or group of clients (e.g. for head of house only) I start a new “T1-Transit Mem0″. This is my typing report. This is my guide to keeping track of the tax returns that need to be prepared, who to be billed, and a guide to what to bill based on my actual time spent plus an admin charge. I also note last years’ billed amount, as a reminder and to also watch for, in case I can deduct this in the client’s business.

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Taxpayer Alert - You do not have to pay taxes or fees to the CRA on lottery or sweepstakes winnings!

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning the public to beware of an email scam in which individuals are informed that they have won a large sum of money in a lottery or sweepstakes, usually from a foreign country.

There are many versions of the scam, but the general concept remains the same: The victim receives an unsolicited email or regular mail from a legitimate-sounding financial institution claiming it has a bank draft from a foreign sweepstakes company that is payable to him or her. The email states that, to receive the prize, the addressee must first pay part of the taxes allegedly owed on the prize amount.

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Subject: CRA Electronic mailing list service

Canada Revenue Agency interest rates for the first calendar quarter

Ottawa, December 2, 2005… The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) today announced the prescribed annual interest rates that will apply to any amounts owed to the CRA and to any amounts the CRA owes to individuals and corporations. These rates are calculated quarterly in accordance with applicable legislation and will be in effect from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2006.

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The following is now available on the CRA Web site:

www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newsroom/releases/2005/nov/nr051114-e.html

News release

Revenue Minister McCallum launches the Taxpayer Alert initiative

Toronto, Ontario, November 14, 2005… John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue, today launched the Taxpayer Alert initiative as part of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) ongoing commitment to ensuring a level playing field for all taxpayers. The announcement was made during an appearance on CTV’s Canada AM morning television show.

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It’s not up on the website yet (at the time of writing this post), but it will probably be on the archives for the week ended 11/14/2005 … at Judge Judy’s website

No, I am not a fan … although I watch it. My wife likes to watch it on channel 135 during the hours 6:00pm to 7:00pm … which usually coincides with our dinner. It’s …. “okay” .. but, if I were to pick my favorite .. it would be Judge Marilyn Milian from The People’s Court .. Hands Down everytime!

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