newsonaut
Turning inner space into outer space
Monday, August 24, 2026
Buy Canadian
A 1958 “Buy Canadian” promotion from the Canadian Advertising Association, found on Reddit.
More posts in the Business category
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Kamloops small business is hot and growing
The small business blog at the Vancouver Sun says Kamloops has the fastest growing small business community in B.C. That’s right — we’re well ahead of second-place Victoria and sixth-place Kelowna. Between June 2010 and June 2011, Kamloops added 412 new businesses for a total of 7,499. I don’t know much about business, but it sure seems impressive to me.
Go to: Kamloops fastest growing small biz community in B.C.
More posts in the Business category
Monday, August 8, 2011
Who benefits from donations at the till?
A few days ago, someone commenting at The Daily News site asked a good question: When you make a donation at the till, who gets the income tax receipt?
I am often asked to give money to a good cause when checking out at the grocery store. Sometimes there are even incentives, such as Air Miles or coupons if you give a certain amount. In the case of the Food Bank, all you have to do is rip off a coupon and throw it in with the groceries.
But never once have I been offered a receipt. So last weekend, I decided to bring this up with the cashier. As expected, she was bewildered by the question. She said I might be able to use the entry on the store receipt, but I pointed out this likely wouldn’t cut it with Revenue Canada.
She was obviously stumped, so I moved on.
The question of the income tax receipt is important. You might not give much at the till, but over the course of time it adds up. And just imagine how much it adds up for the store and the company that owns it. Safeway and Walmart, among others, take untold thousands of dollars and pass the cash along. Do they get the receipt? Do they get the tax benefit?
I suppose it could be argued that companies that collect money from customers should have some kind of incentive — and a deduction on their taxes would be a good one. Still, it seems less than transparent to do things this way.
The next time I’m asked for a donation, I might take it up with the manager. Since it’s my money that’s being donated, shouldn’t I be the one to get the deduction? I really hate the feeling that I might be getting scammed.
More posts in the Business category
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Bad for business but good for living
Over on our Facebook page, there isn’t a lot of sympathy for bar owners whose business is down because of stricter drunk driving laws.
Owners in Kamloops report that patronage has dropped anywhere between 10 and 50 per cent. Apparently, many people are afraid to have even one drink for fear of going over the limit — lowered to .05 from .08.
But here’s reaction from Facebook: “If the new law is having a positive effect on our roads, then this is a good thing. If bar owners are losing money because of it, then I would suggest getting out of the business; they’re all about making money anyway, which is driven by greed. I hope all the bars go bankrupt — it wouldn’t hurt, but only benefit society.”
Harsh words. But balance the plight of bar owners with the benefits of the lower limit. B.C. police chiefs released figures Tuesday that show deaths due to impaired driving are down 23 per cent from the same time last year.
According to an article in The Province: “Deaths from October to January were as high as 46 in 2005 and never lower than 25 deaths in any of the past 10 years. But between October 2010 and January 2011, there were only 20 drunk-driving deaths.”
The police, needless to say, want the new law left as is. And I tend to believe them. They’re the ones who have to deal with the carnage that takes place after people leave the bars.
To get an idea of how closely this hits to home, try doing a search on the word “drunk” at The Daily News website. A total of 161 headlines comes up, and many of them refer to court stories dealing with the consequences of drunk driving. The thing I find striking is that few of these stories made the front page. Could it be that drunk driving has become so commonplace that it isn’t considered big news? I’m sure the people whose lives have been shattered because of it wouldn’t think so.
If it comes down to a choice between saving lives and saving bars, then it’s really a no-brainer. The bars will have to suffer.
More posts in the Business category
Friday, January 14, 2011
Goodbye, Zellers; hello Target
A lot of people were sad to see Woodward’s go. Many were distraught to see the end of Eaton’s. Will anyone weep over the passing of Zellers? Probably not.
Zellers shoppers appreciate the good selection and low prices. Their collection of plastic storage bins is second to none. Unfortunately, the perception is that no matter how low the prices may be at Zellers, they will be lower at Walmart — in many minds the most popular department store in Kamloops.
Target will have the advantage of being better able to differentiate itself from Walmart, and carve out a nice little niche for itself in the retail scene. I’ve never shopped at Target, but judging by their website, they appear to be more upscale than Zellers, but still devoted to savings. I can imagine it doing well in budget-minded Kamloops.
More posts in the Business category
Saturday, January 1, 2011
What to do about the price of gas
Gasoline in Kamloops was selling for 114.4 a litre when I last looked. That’s ridiculously high. As one wag put it, he almost drove into a power pole when he saw the signs.
When prices get jacked up like this, the media often do a story explaining how the gas stations can get away with it. And it always comes down to one thing: because they can. In this case, I’d say they saw the opportunity to make a few extra bucks off holiday travellers, so there is some hope that prices will settle down next week.
It’s been proposed in the past that consumers react by picking one company and boycotting it, thus ensuring that at least someone is punished. These boycotts are unfortunately hard to organize, so I have another idea: hold off buying gas for as long as you can. Run on fumes if you have to. When you finally do buy gas again, buy as little as possible.
My idea is that this will seriously hurt the bottom line of gas stations for at least a few days, maybe even a week. It might be enough to show them that big price increases are counterproductive, and that they lose money in the long run. It’s simple supply and demand. If demand dries up, the gas stations will be forced to drop prices to lure us back in.
More posts in the Business category
Thursday, December 30, 2010
HST a tough nut to crack
On today’s front page, we have two seemingly opposing views on the HST. MLA Terry Lake says reports of big spending over the holiday season prove the tax is not hurting the economy. Meanwhile, a restaurant owner says the HST contributed to the closure of her business.
So who do we believe? Well, both — and neither. Lake, as expected, will support policy introduced by his government, but he does make some valid points even when you look beyond the political spin. For better or worse, Kamloops shoppers have obviously found a way to adjust to the HST.
But how do we explain the closure of the Comfy Couch restaurant? The owner insists the HST, along with the economic downturn, kept customers away. She’s backed by the head of B.C.’s restaurant association, who predicts the closure of more eateries.
The way I see it, people will continue to spend on things they consider to be necessary and if they can find bargains. The advantage retailers have around Christmas is that for many people, the giving of gifts is almost mandatory. Who can tell their kids that Santa is not coming this year? Also, retailers can offer sales and discounts to lure shoppers into their stores, where they will at least be exposed to the option of buying.
Restaurants, on the other hand, are a luxury no matter how you look at it. Christmas dinner can just as easily be prepared and served at home. And it’s rare for a restaurant to be able to offer meal deals strong enough to convince diners to do otherwise.
I tend to believe the many economists who insist that in the long run the HST will be good for B.C. But there’s going to be a transition period, and the big question is whether we have the fortitude to see it through.
More posts in the Business category
Sunday, December 26, 2010
High-dollar media interface
I took a chance on the Boxing Day shopping madness to buy an HDMI cable, and almost had a heart attack when I was reminded of how much they cost. Luckily, I found a store that was selling them for 25 per cent off, which was enough to get me through the checkout with only minor palpitations. I was impressed to see security guards at the doors — no doubt shoplifting is a problem when you have crowds of shoppers.
More posts in the Business category
