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John Thomson  

Rumours and things

Last week I wrote an item about the price of gasoline between Vernon and Kelowna and the difference we paid. Returning to the city we noticed that the price had risen three cents since noon when we left the city for a funeral that afternoon.

Yesterday I received this email from a reader:

Regarding your comment recently about gas prices....we came back from Alberta yesterday (December 13th) and couldn’t believe the difference in gas prices. From Revelstoke to Vernon the price was 104.9 to 105.9 with the exception of the Enderby/Mara area where gas was 95.9. This area has been priced the same within a few cents for months. Obviously they are not going to sell at a loss so why are Kelowna and Westbank priced at 109.9? That is a 14 cent difference. Diesel is also considerably cheaper in that area. I really think we’re getting screwed here. I can’t think of any logical reason for a 14 cent difference.

What is going on here?

Good grief!

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“Leave the sugar plums dancing in your head instead of visions of tax shelters,” warns Canada Revenue. There are a number of advertisements for tax shelter donation arrangements. Canada Revenue Agency has some real concerns that the citizens are going to be duped.

Be very aware of the risks associated in participating in certain tax shelter donation arrangements, including gifting trust arrangements, leveraged cash donations, and buy-low, donate-high arrangements.

A tax shelter number is used for identification purposes only and does not guarantee that taxpayers will receive the proposed tax benefits. The number is used by the Revenue Agency to identify all tax shelters and their investors.

They then review these tax shelters to ensure that tax benefits being claimed meet the requirements of the Income Tax Act.

The CRA actually has three years from the date of assessment to reassess you. If you are going to participate in tax shelter donation arrangements, obtain some independent legal and tax advice.

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A local businessperson, a friend of mine for many years, has just returned from a business trip to Beijing and asked me not to use his name. His company hopes to make a deal for its wood products in China, realizing right away it would not be an easy deal, but would be worth it in the end.

He was shocked at how goods were being sold as the street merchants set up early in the morning on street corners in shops no bigger than a couple of old phone booths. Within minutes, they would be selling compact discs, computer games, watches, scarves and handbags with Gucci and Louis Vuitton labels. They were all fake imitations and very inexpensive.

He was told by one of his contacts in China that he must condition himself to deal with the copycats. I question how someone learns to do that. It is not just about all the company’s latest products. It could very well be its manufacturing process, it’s advertising or even its company name if it is not registered in both English and French.

That brought back memories to me because I had such a situation and with a little luck was able to complete the registration of some local brands for a major company many years ago in the early 80’s. It wasn’t easy and it cost a couple of bucks.

Entire plants in China are making counterfeit products.

Good advice to local companies even thinking of China in the future.

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I don’t know why the car manufacturers have had such a problem in getting to the car buyers in the families today as we all know women make up the majority of car buyers in this country. Someday day soon some smart car maker is going to catch on but you would never know it from the advertising we see and hear.

Or, how about this one: Older Canadians today are the biggest, richest and most active groups of seniors in the history
of the world. Three out of four baby boomers say they have no intention of seeking traditional retirement. Look around and you see what is happening in our own backyard. Is anybody paying attention?

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The Tim Horton Effect has increased dairy sales in the country for milk and cream. Consumption is up. Over the last few years we have seen a lot of coffee shops and the ordering of “Double Doubles” has increased consumption of cream.

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Are you getting a new TV with all the gadgets for Christmas? Or a computer or a new cell phone? So if you do, be honest, will you really understand all the features of any of those gifts or should I say will you ever understand all the new technology? Some of us will never take full advantage of these toys because we’re afraid to make a mistake. It is not surprising that consumers struggle with these items. It doesn’t seem to stop us from buying bigger and better.

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Have you received a call at your place of business with someone on the line to sell you a first aid kit which they will tell you must have because of a new ruling by the government that all businesses must carry this kit or be fined. Make sure WorkSafe BC knows they are in the market. It’s just a quick money scam and heaven only knows what you will get for your money.

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Unlike what happens in this country does India or the Philippines have laws and legislation to protect sensitive personal information? The Indian government says they are working on a solution to the problem. I don’t know about you but this kind of thing scares the hell out of me and we don’t need our personal information unguarded. I for one am getting a little fed up with some of these international banking procedures we go through and yet never have it explained to us by the major institutions we are dealing with. Look at the problems we continually face because some company we do business with does not protect our personal information. It’s ridiculous and we are so vulnerable to these situations. There is cause for concern.

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“So that’s why they call us The Brady Bunch!”

That Telus TV commercial seems to be in my mind daily. Reminds me of our first trip top Disneyland and I couldn’t get “It’s A Small World” out of my mind. I still think about that song.


More John Thomson articles

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About the Author

John Thomson is the Okanagan's pre-eminent business columnist writing his column, Rumours and Things, for over 24 years. Plugged in to the valley's who's who, John keeps his readers coming back for more with his straight talk and optimistic perspective on where we are headed next.

When John is not writing his column, he runs a sixteen year old think tank called the Executive Roundtable and holds his popular "Thomson Presents" quarterly business speaker seminars.

Have a comment, question, or tip for John? 

E-mail John at
[email protected]
or send him a fax at 250-764-8255.

 



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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