getting to know you tuesday

Ooh Canadians!! I’ll admit it. I have a fascination with Canadians. I don’t know if it’s tied to a childhood trip, the wildly odd flick Canadian Bacon or my lifelong love of both Michael J. Fox and maple syrup. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t be more pleased to have as my guest on Getting To Know You Tuesday, a colleague from across the border, the Canadian Lawyerista.

1. Where are you now?

I am sitting in a board room at my firm, which is my temporary office until we complete our renovations. The renovations were supposed to be done months ago.

2. What’s your official title and what does it mean?

My degree designation is LL.B., which means I have a Bachelor of Laws degree. The body which governs lawyers in my province tells me I am a barrister & a solicitor, which means that I am authorized to prepare cases and argue them in court and to take instructions and act on behalf of my client. I am commonly known as a lawyer, which is the term used in Canada instead of the U.S. term “attorney”.

3. What books are on your night stand?

I’m not sure I can remember all the books on my nightstand. They tend to get piled up there after story time with my children, aged 3 and 5. I’m guessing there are some Dr. Seuss books, maybe Scaredy Squirrel. As for my books, I have been trying to get back into The Memory Keepers Daughter for months now. I also think there is a copy of the 500 Best Value Wines at the L.C.B.O. (the L.C.B.O. operates the stores authorized to sell alcohol in my province) and a copy of The Everything Green book, a book on living environmentally friendly. There are also copies of Real Simple, Lou Lou and Flare magazine (a habit which is not very green!).

4. If you weren’t working in the tax profession, what would your dream job be?

If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would likely be doing something in sales or retail management. I worked in sales and retail before I started my career and I enjoyed it. Back in high school I took some career planning tests, and I scored high in both sales and law. My real dream job would be no job at all, but to be independently wealthy and spend my days volunteering, being a mom and living as green a life as possible on my farm, which would probably be more work than my job is now. Farming is not easy.

5. What’s the last movie that you saw (DVD or in the theatre)?

The last movie I saw was Dan in Real Life. It was ok, since I love Steve Carrell.

6. Tax is a huge subject. What’s your area of special interest?

I like corporate tax, and particularly its intersection with estate planning. It is astonishing the taxes that can be saved by corporations and their shareholders with a proper estate plan and proper planning to take advantage of tax savings during the life of the corporation.

7. What’s the best tax or financial advice that anyone ever gave you?

I don’t even know if anyone has ever given me tax advice, I’ve learned most of what I know in the course of my work, so it is not like anyone sat me down to say “here is what you need to know”. The single best advice I have learned to give is that individuals who are shareholders in a corporation need to have two separate wills – one to dispose of the shares alone and anything else that does not require formal estate administration, and another will for everything else. The will disposing of the shares can transfer the shares and the other exempted assets without paying any estate taxes.

8. Coffee or tea?

I love my tea, but I’m pretty much having difficulty waking up without a few cups of coffee these days, so coffee it is.

9. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).

The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Feist. I listen to music most of the day in the background (often on last.fm) and in the car with my kids too.

10. What would I be surprised to know about you?

Well, #4 might have given this away a bit, but I live on a farm. We are not really actively farming right now, but we have had about 30 head of cattle in the past. I have driven a tractor and a backhoe, chased cows back into the pasture in the middle of the night, shovelled manure and birthed a calf. We have a garden and will be getting some laying hens soon.

11. What college did you attend (in what subject)?

My undergraduate degree is from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. That degree is a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), with a concentration in Sociology. My thesis was on female fear of crime. My first year of law school was at Queen’s as well, and then I transferred to the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario to complete my degree.

12. If you had the opportunity to make one change in the tax code tomorrow – an extra credit, a disallowed deduction, whatever – what would it be?

Hmm, my sense of fairness is what prompts me to give this answer, although personal tax is not a huge part of my work. In Canada there is a supplement provided to children under six every month, regardless of income. There are other supplements available as well, depending on income and province of residence. These supplements are taxable, which irks me, especially for the benefits provided to low income families.

13. What’s the best thing on TV right now?

I don’t have a lot of time to watch TV. I either PVR stuff to watch later or watch things online, but about all I am following right now is Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. I will watch fashion shows like What Not to Wear if I have the time, which is never.

14. What do you think Congress will repeal first: estate tax or AMT?

I can’t really answer this question since I practice in Canada, but in terms of the Canadian situation, our current government is Conservative and I expect them to reduce our universal goods and services tax. It has already been reduced twice and is now at 5% down from 7%.

15. If Uncle Sam handed you a huge refund check right now, what would you do with it?

Well, if Uncle Sam gave me a cheque that would be a real bonus since I don’t reside in the U.S.. I am getting a substantial refund from the Canadian government. We are setting some of the funds aside in a special family vacation savings account and the rest we plan to put into R.R.S.P.s for me, since I do not have a pension plan with my employment. R.R.S.P.s are Canada’s equivalent to 401Ks. We also may put a portion into an emergency fund.

16. Biggest tax newsmaker: Daschle, Joe Francis or TARP?

Well, my answer on this one is not really a professional analysis, but I would have to say Joe Francis, because he cropped up on perezhilton.com (a guilty pleasure for quick distraction!).

17. And, other than taxgirl, what’s your favorite tax related web site?

Hmm. I don’t follow any one site or group of sites, I just look things up as I need them. The federal and provincial government web sites I use often to review procedures, confirm the wording of legislation, pull forms and instruction guides and read tax rulings or interpretation guides from Canada Revenue Agency.

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Thanks Michele! You can find out more about Michele on her firm web site. You can also check out her blog and follow her on twitter.

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