Mike Grenby's Tax Tips: How to Pay Less Tax This Year

John Marston was a federal civil servant in Ottawa.

Mike Grenby, personal finance columnist for the Vancouver Sun, “makes an offer you can’t refuse” in his fifth edition of Tax Tips: how to pay less tax this year.

To be fair to Mike, he does add the caveat that many of these tips touch controversial and often complicated areas, and expert advice could be required. As additional help, such areas are flagged to indicate that help could be needed.

The book explains tax terminology clearly and concisely, in language that the layman can easily understand. Tip #25 explains what you must do if you win a lottery and are going to share the winnings with members of your family. Heady stuff, this. Another one explains that your gambling winnings are not “taxable income” provided that the gambling is not done as an organized business (i.e., as a professional gambler).

Deductions, personal tax planning, employment (your tips, tuition fees, moving costs, club fees, use of a company car, etc.), divorce or separation, real estate, business tax planning, income tax appeals — all these subjects are made clear.

This is a “must” book for all of us.