It wasn't a prank.
Nor a fundraiser - unless you call a fine for a misdemeanor fishing violation a fundraiser - which maybe it is.
A few weeks earlier I had been out on the water with friends, and ran in to a particularly lucrative patch of Coho salmon.
Fish after silvery fish were being hauled in, when in the midst of this flurry of success I caught a small Chinook, which needed to be tagged on my paper license according to regulations.
Just as I was about to tag it, a couple of fisheries officers pulled along side and boarded us with their small skiff. The water had suddenly become rough, and the two officers were having trouble boarding us safely.
At that moment I had the choice between assisting them into the boat and tagging my license.
I chose the polite option, and dropped my gear to help keep them from slipping in the drink.
Strictly business, they immediately asked to see our fish hold, and, on inspecting my untagged Chinook, followed by taking a lovely incriminating mug shot of me holding the offending fish.
I was instructed not to smile. No problem there.
Feeling unjustly treated, I had every intention of writing a snotty letter to their supervisor and protesting the charge.
The reason I hadn't tagged the fish is because I helped them safely board the vessel! But as usual, things got busy and I forgot about the whole thing.
"Come and get me," I thought to myself.
"I think I have a very defensible explanation."
President elect of the Hecate Strait Rotary Club in Prince Rupert was a position of moderate notoriety. The business and professional community was tight there, and the club gave us an opportunity to network and, more importantly, a chance to give back a little to the community which gave us our livelihoods.
The executive members sat at the front during our lunch meetings, in full view of the members at large.
Other than having to refrain from licking the gravy off my plate, the task was not too terribly difficult, except for a few nervous jitters when it was my turn to emcee. Also, there was that time when I was introducing the guest speaker only to be interrupted by the RCMP, who came directly to the front of the meeting room, and asked if I would come with them willingly, or if I had to be handcuffed. Upstanding citizens we Rotarians.
I appealed to one of the board members, an RCMP supervisor of some sort, but he just shrugged smirkishly.
Fifty dollars and 20 minutes later, I was a free man again, pleading my case to my chuckling Rotarian peers.
In our last installment of this three-part series on TFSA's, we look at a few more details to consider planning around, to haul the best tax advantages ashore.
TFSAs can complement existing savings plans
Depending on your financial circumstances and your stage of life, you may be able to use the TFSA to complement your existing registered savings plans in the following ways:
If you have RRSP contribution room, consider making a contribution and using the tax refund you receive to contribute to a TFSA. This could be a way to save for various goals, for example, a home, a car or travel, while sheltering income from taxation.
If you have maximized your RRSP contributions based on your available contribution room or if you can no longer make RRSP contributions due to your age, you could use your TFSA to earn additional tax-sheltered investment income.
You may wish to consider using your TFSA to accumulate funds in addition to an RESP.
This is another tax-sheltered way to save for a child's education.
If you have investments in nonregistered accounts, consider contributing them in-kind to your TFSA, up to your allowable TFSA contribution limit.
This will initially trigger any latent capital gains.
If you are able to make contributions to your TFSA and are looking for an additional source of retirement income in future years, you may enjoy the flexibility of being able to withdraw funds from the account without tax consequences when you need them.
Then in future years you can re-contribute the funds you have withdrawn since these withdrawals create new contribution room in the year after the withdrawal.
An emergency fund
You may wish to use the TFSA to help create an emergency fund.
As these funds may be needed urgently and have to hold their value, invest in less volatile interest earning securities. As interest in a nonregistered account is not favourably taxed, compared with Canadian dividend income and capital gains, the TFSA will shelter your interest income from taxation.
You could earn interest income on the funds tax-free and have access to them when you need them.
Consider using your TFSA as a complement to a line of credit as another way to meet unexpected expenses.
If you are considering borrowing funds to invest in a TFSA as part of your overall financial plan, note that you will not be able to deduct the interest you pay on the borrowed funds.
This article is not meant as legal or tax advice, and readers should consult their own professionals (and duly published angling regulations) before proceeding with a strategy.
Mark Ryan is an advisor with RBC Wealth Management, Dominion Securities (member CIPF) and can be reached at [email protected] or 250-960-4927.
