It’s tax season!….and election season! Oh what a fun time of year, so much to do, so many debates to watch, so many polls to analyze. I thought I’d drop my 2 cents into the fountain before it all comes to an end…and hopefully help someone make some money at the same time.

So I’m listening to some of that there talk radio on the way home from work and there’s a discussion going on about an out-of-province student’s right to vote in the jurisdiction in which they currently live. The student being interviewed, I believe it was Arielle from Manitoba, has set down roots in Montreal, has no intention of leaving and has been refused the right to vote in the upcoming election, apparently after showing all the required documentation. Without getting into this topic too deeply, I would think that it’s pretty tough to disagree that there is something not quite acceptable about a system in which the right to vote becomes the judgement call of a DGE (directeur général des élections) clerk. If an individual meets all the criteria the DGE requires of them, no subjectivity should be allowed to enter the equation. The fact that this student provided everything that was asked of her (including a Quebec medicare card!) makes the result all the more unjust.

Now, with my election venting out of the way, allow me to share what made the accountant in me yell at my radio (I don’t think they heard me). In this talk-radio chat, the election expert who was brought in to offer his opinion on the matter suggested that Arielle file her income taxes this year in Quebec in order to help strengthen her case that Quebec is her home and that she should be permitted to vote here. Arielle’s reply? “I only just turned 18, I’m a student, I don’t file my taxes and don’t need to file my taxes.”

No, Arielle, no!!! Say it ain’t so! While not entirely untrue (since if you’re under 18 you actually are not required to file a tax return), Arielle is potentially wasting THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in tuition tax credits…not to mention that if she has a part-time job and they’ve been deducting taxes from her pay, she could potentially have that tax refunded to her! It makes me wonder how many more students out there, whether from out-of-province or from right here in Quebec, are leaving this lost cash blowing in the wind?

Please do me a favour if you’re reading this and you are a student? Come and do your tax return with me. I’ll charge you $100 if you show me an active student card. Or if you know a student or spot one at Starbucks in the next few weeks, please yell at them for me…both to make sure they vote and to make sure they do their taxes!

Sincerely,

The Funny Accountant

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter if you like what you read!  And as always, if you have tax questions, need advice on your personal taxes, corporate taxes or anything else accounting or business related, please contact The Funny Accountant/President of MK & Associates by phone at (514) 833-1158 or by e-mail at mitch@mkassociates.ca.

Also, for a witty and insightful read, check out the wifey’s blog. It’s funny and good.

And, last but not least, Anthony Housefather, our sitting Mayor here in Cote Saint-Luc, Quebec is running for the Liberal Party of Canada’s nomination in the Federal riding of Mont-Royal. In my opinion, he is clearly the best man for the job and it is my hope that others might have an interest in helping Anthony to achieve his goal of winning the Party’s nomination and making his way into the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament. If you live in the Mont Royal district and are interested in supporting Mayor Housefather’s campaign, please follow this link and sign up as a member of the Liberal Party (a $10 cost for the year). When the time comes, sometime later this year, you can then help nominate Anthony Housefather as Liberal candidate in our riding! Good luck Anthony!