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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 20 ,2 02 2 | 8 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeav @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Graeme MacIntosh CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM "That sounds like oppor- tunity in work clothes." A person I once worked with said this whenever a problem came up. That's an energizing way to face things. It's always inspired me. Town council and I will keep facing our opportuni- ties in that spirit. We know you face life the same way. Together, we keep growing livability for Oakville. We keep up with the community facilities, services, roads and buses our growing community needs -- as we obey the provincial requirement to permit new homes for the surge of population we are attracting. By keeping our legal de- fence reserve strong, we stay strong, so we win when outsiders attack our livability and our Livable Oakville Plan. Our court-tested Offi- cial Plan directs unwanted intensification away from the stable and established streets where we live. When infill sites near the streets where we live and our chosen growth nodes and corridors are full, growth will spill, un- der Ontario's Growth Plan legislation, onto the streets where we live and work so NEW YEAR PRESENTS NEW OPPORTUNITY LET'S ALL KEEP STRIVING TO MAKE THIS A VIBRANT COMMUNITY, WRITES ROB BURTON Canadians are required to pay income tax on in- come earned. This in- cludes salary, interest in- come, dividend income and capital gains. If funds are invested in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or a Registered Retirement In- come Fund, investment in- come earned within the plan is not taxed. However, all funds withdrawn from either plan are added to your income and taxed at that time. Regardless of how much tax you currently pay, in- come earned within your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is not taxed. It is al- so not taxed when you withdraw funds from the TFSA. The program started in 2009 and you must be 18 or older to contribute. The cu- mulative contribution lim- it is $81,500. That includes the 2022 annual contribution limit, which is $6,000. The program is ex- tremely flexible. In any year you can catch up on all previous contribution lim- its that have not been used. Unlike RRSPs, people over age 71 are allowed to con- tribute. You can withdraw any amount at any time. In the year following your with- drawal, you can recontri- bute that amount in addi- tion to the contribution room allowed to all Canadi- ans during that calendar year. It is your responsibility to ensure you do not over contribute. There is a one per cent penalty for an over contribution amount cal- culated on a monthly basis. You might find it easier to manage your TFSA con- tribution limits if you have them invested with one fi- nancial institution. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Cap- ital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. Investment prod- ucts are provided by AC- PI. ACPI is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessari- ly those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth manage- ment services through Watson Investments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- s.com. WHY YOU NEED A TAX-FREE SAVINGS ACCOUNT PETER WATSON Column A screech owl is almost hidden while taking a nap in the Burloak area. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. Angela Mercurio photo SNAPSHOT ROB BURTON Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM hard to protect. That's why it is so im- portant to avoid under-uti- lizing our designated growth areas for new and affordable housing. We know it's also impor- tant to make life for resi- dents and businesses more affordable, and attract new business and jobs for our residents. Our town's 2022 proper- ty tax increase is just 1.50 per cent. This is lower than Milton (2.93 per cent), Bur- lington (2.87 per cent), Hal- ton Hills (2.85 per cent), and Mississauga (3.10 per cent). For 16 years, our dedi- cated council members, professional staff, engaged residents and passionate community leaders and I have shared the vision to be Canada's most livable town. It's been even more ful- filling work than it was to make a success of the tele- vision network I created, YTV. And that's saying some- thing. We can have as great a community as we're will- ing to work together to cre- ate. Oakville's strength is how many of us -- from so many places, faiths, and cultures -- are willing to show up and do that work and keep advancing through the adversity life throws at us to make and keep Oakville Canada's most livable and safest town. Rob Burton is the May- or of Oakville. He can be reached at mayor@oak- ville.ca.