February 2002

The Flight from Academia
Book soon to beat the latest air tax!

Whether you’re flying home for the summer, heading off to a summer job or doing “that Europe thing”, best to look at lining up your flight soon. Otherwise you may be taking a little less on board as the government will be slapping an additional Air Travellers Security Charge on tickets purchased after April 1, 2002. This new tax will hit you with $12 for one-way travel or $24 for round trip travel within Canada. For those venturing to the US the charge will be $12 and $24 for those travelling outside Canada and the continental U.S.

A Little Less Tax for a Few More People
The latest goodies from Ottawa!

This year may find you paying a little less in tax if you meet certain criteria. The December 2001 budget has served up a few morsels that could mean extra cash for some students. These include:

• The maximum amount for Canada Study Grants for students with disabilities, for exceptional costs associated with disabilities, will increase from $5,000 to $8,000.
• The education tax credit will be extended to individuals receiving EI assistance for their post-secondary education.
• A deduction will be provided for people who receive EI assistance to obtain adult basic education.
• A tax deduction will be provided for the extraordinary cost of mechanics’ tools.
• In order to qualify for EI, apprentices will now only have to wait one week, instead of two, each time they leave the workforce for classroom training.