NOTE: This archive references other sites on the World Wide Web. From time to time, an article's link may be moved or deleted from the host site. If you encounter an out-of-date link, please e-mail the thepayrollnews@canpay.com.

What's New?

July 2001 - Welcome to the latest edition of The Payroll News. As always, please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and associates who are interested in keeping up with the latest changes in the Payroll industry. Or better yet, subscribe them for free using the Tell Someone About Us link.

Upcoming Events:

July 2001 - Listed here are recent changes in legislation on Federal and Provincial levels that may impact your payroll calculations. Please view the following list for changes that affect your region.

FEDERAL:

June 6, 2001 - British Columbia is the latest province to announce payroll-related measures in their provincial budget. B.C. taxpayers will begin to benefit from $1.5 billion in provincial personal income tax cuts starting July 1, 2001. All taxpayers will receive an average 25 per cent cut in their British Columbia personal income taxes. Choose the following link to view other provincial/territorial budget announcements released over the past few months. (more)

The Canadian Payroll Association's Federal Government Relations Advisory Council (FGRAC) has provided suggestions to the CCRA on taxable benefits reform. Topics include Automobile Benefits, Group Term Life Insurance, Moving Expenses, Parking, Stock Options, etc. (more)

Northwest Territories:

June 6, 2001 - The Minister of Finance announced the Government's plans to move ahead with the “Tax on Income” (TONI) approach to personal income taxation in the Northwest Territories. When legislation comes into effect, the TONI system will see territorial income tax calculated as a percentage of taxable income, rather than as a percentage of federal tax. (more)

June 07, 2001 - The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment today outlined the Government's $6.5 million iniative to address the training and employment needs of Northwest Territories residents. Some initiatives have already been implemented such as summer student employment, internships and guaranteed employment programs for graduates. (more)

Nunavut:

June 21, 2001 - The Minister of Human Resources pronounced July 9th as an offical Government holiday -- Nunavut Day. This day will be officially recognized as a paid holiday for all Nunavut Government employees. (more)

Ontario:

June 8, 2001 - Ontario Premier Mike Harris commented on monthly job statistics showing the province's net gain of 6500 jobs in May 2001. As a newly elected goverment six years ago, Harris' cabinet promised to help create 725,000 jobs - a figure that was met and surpassed by July 2000. (more)

June 21, 2001 - Small Businesses can now register on-line for such items as Payroll Deductions, Corporate Income Tax and GST in as little as 20 minutes under the Ontario Business Connects (OBC) program. The Government has partnered with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) to create one door for these common transactions with the two levels of government. (more)

The latest release of GrandMaster Suite incorporates a number of changes that make it even easier to use the program and perform your payroll tasks. Some recent changes to the program include:

• You may now delete an employee from a specific payroll provided the employee does not have pay history in that payroll.
• The User ID Update has been modified to allow the Supervisor to restrict or provide users with the ability to Close Periods, Print Pay Statements, Change EFT Settings, and perform Year-end functions.
• When creating the T4/T4A/Releve file you may now define an earning as Box 71 Status Indian. When the file is created the earning amounts will be correctly included in the Box 71 amount and will not be included in box 14 income.

Stay tuned to CanPay's Product News page to receive the latest information about all GrandMaster products!

Do you ever feel like your workday has passed you by and your "to do" list has barely been touched? When it comes to your busy time of the month (payday), this problem can be amplified greatly.

In many cases, a simple change of habit can free up time that can be put towards more pressing tasks. Check out this common set of "time bandits" and the simple solutions that can help reclaim your lost minutes and hours.

Too Many Interruptions - Establish a quiet time each day when you can work undisturbed -- and make it stick. If you are the "go to" person in your department, you may often find that you simply can't avoid being interrupted on a regular basis. However, by firmly establishing a short time for you (even as little as 30 minutes), you can not only complete a task or two, but perhaps even give others the opportunity to grow as they fend for themselves.

Drop-in Visitors - Have your visitors screened so you can choose those you need to see. Close your door for part of the day to dissuade the "chatters" in your office. Consider scheduling your lunch or coffee break hours to accommodate those you need to see. Remember, when a visitor drops by unannounced, the ball is in your court.

Telephone Calls - Use a voice-mail system to take your incoming messages or have your calls screened. Firmly establish a time for placing and receiving calls. Place a three-minute egg timer by your phone and try to complete your calls within this time frame.

Meetings - Never go if you can send someone else (not only can they share the information later, but they may benefit from having attended). Establish starting and ending times to avoid meetings that seem go on forever. Try scheduling meetings back to back, before lunch or at the end of the day -- three sure-fire ways to ensure that a meeting ends when it's supposed to.

Indecision - Accept the fact that risks are expected. When you need to make an important decision, gather and review your information, give yourself a deadline, then make your choice. After all, decision making is part of your everyday job.

Procrastination - Break up that overwhelming job you have been putting off. Separate it into several smaller tasks that ultimately achieve the same goal. Give yourself a deadline for completing the entire project and work on it a little bit every day (starting today).

* Stay tuned for our next issue for the conclusion of this article.