Ever since his wifes death, John Ambush has faced difficult personal and financial circumstances. His job provides him with fairly good income but requires him to hire a caregiver for his daughters, ages 8 and 10, nearly 20 days a month. This requires him to use in-home child care services that consume a large part of his income. Since the Ambushes live in a small apartment, this arrangement has been very inconvenient.

Although John has created an investment fund for his daughters education and for his retirement, he has not sought to select investments that offer tax benefits. Overall, he needs to look at several aspects of his tax-planning activities to find strategies that will best serve his current and future financial needs.

John has assembled the following information for the current tax year:

Earnings from wages. $ 57300 Interest earned on GIC. $235 RRSP deduction. $2500 Savings account interest $65 Federal income tax deducted at source. $4959

Total non-refundable tax credit amounts $13200

Child care deduction. $6500

Filing status: Head of household

1. In what ways may John improve his tax-planning efforts? (5 marks)

2. What additional actions might John investigate regarding taxes and personal financial planning? (5 marks)