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Gabriola Island, BC Real Estate News

By Tina, Randi & Jennifer Lynch
(Coast Realty Group (Gabriola Village) Ltd.)
I was with my kids at Gymnastics in Nanaimo tonight and there was a buzz going around about which schools were selected for full day kindergarten beginning in Fall 2010. I checked the School District 68 site when I got home and found a link to Full Day Kindergarten in the news. This sheet also contains answers to frequently asked questions and lists the schools selected.For parents with children attending kindergarten in Sept. 2010, you should enroll your child soon as registration opened on Jan 4. (Submitted by: Tina Lynch)  
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By Tina, Randi & Jennifer Lynch
(Coast Realty Group (Gabriola Village) Ltd.)
A friend of mine just let me know about a new tax credit that the Federal Government has brought in for use of public transportation. The BC Ferries website has information about qualifying your ferry trips for a tax credit and it looks like you will need to have 16 round trips in a 31 day period, which will effect residents on Gabriola that commute to Nanaimo for work. These will need to be paid for using an electronic payment card. You will need to register your BC Ferries experience card online or by phoning the Customer Service Center (1 888 223 3779). Once a card is registered you will be able to obtain a travel history report, this can be printed and will show all the trips taken on the card. For more information about the federal income tax credit for public transit, visit the C...
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By Tina, Randi & Jennifer Lynch
(Coast Realty Group (Gabriola Village) Ltd.)
 It's that time of year, when I'm rifling through my pockets, purses, drawers and files looking for every last receipt. This year, I'm making sure I set aside a stack that I can use towards the Home Renoation Tax Credit. I wanted to check what I could include towards it, and it was suprisingly more than I had realized.Canadian homeowners can get up to $1,350 in tax credits for home renovations made between January 27, 2009 and February 1, 2010 (so you have two weeks if you haven't done your home renovations yet).The HRTC allows families to claim 15 per cent of home improvement expenses, between $1,000 and $10,000, on their 2009 income tax return. This gives families up to $1,350in nonrefundable tax credits, which reduce the total amount of income tax they must pay.Here's a list of elig...
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By Tina, Randi & Jennifer Lynch
(Coast Realty Group (Gabriola Village) Ltd.)
Kate Emmings of the Islands Trust Fund was on Gabriola this weekend, to provide information on, “The Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program,” which offers an incentive for island landowners to protect natural & geological features of your property while reducing taxes.Through the program NAPTEP, an island landowner can receive up to 65% property tax exemption on the portion of land of their property which is protected through covenants.Properties that are eligible may include; relatively undisturbed natural area that is a good example of an important ecosystem, important natural area that provides key habitat to rare native plant or animal species, or naturally occurring special geological features.A conservation covenant is an agreement between the landowner and conservancy grou...
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By Tina, Randi & Jennifer Lynch
(Coast Realty Group (Gabriola Village) Ltd.)
With the holiday season upon us, we wanted to share some of "island ideas" & showcase some island businesses, over the next couple of weeks, to help make your holiday shop easier....New Society Publishers http://www.newsociety.com/New Society Publishers, is now a 20 year old island company who's mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society. They employ approx. 12 island residents, including the two owners. They offer a wide variety of books & some fabulous green building books & cookbooks - that we have in our personal collection.Greenbeans http://www.greenbeans.ca/This relatively new island online company offers a healthier more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic water bottle & thermos bottles. The...
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