"Other than genetically engineered seeds, patents do not apply to seeds collected from any plant. This a not a human controlled process but rather one of natural selection and cannot be included under current plant breeder's rights and patent laws. The seeds themselves MAY be patented (although other than GM, patented seeds are uncommon), but the produce of the plants grown from such seeds (ie, the second generation seeds) are not. Because of the possibility of cross pollination or initial hybridization, seeds collected from these plants may not come true to form or original parentage." This is not correct. Tens of thousands of cultivars are being patented that are not GM. The average review process for seed patenting lasts 6 minutes. Current U.S. law allows corporations to patent whatever they wish, whether or not they developed it or "discovered" it. This patenting is one of the things that has accelerated greatly after the consolidation of the seed industry that we have recently experienced. (http://www.etcgroup.org/documents/Comm90GlobalSeed.pdf) There is even nothing to stop the patenting of heirloom varieties. After the fact, if somebody can confront the patent office with evidence that the seed was produced in the public domain and provide a preserved sample from before the patent date for genetic analysis, the patent will not hold. Syngenta (the world's largest vegetable seed company) was recently purchased by Monsanto and is currently trying to globally patent 30,000 gene sequences in rice to create monopoly control of the world's most widely used grain, and is making similar attempts with wheat, corn and sorghum. These are not only GM seeds, and in the case of rice, they include the seed stock of over 90% of the seeds currently being planted.

Let me see if I can help. First, this is not a wash sale unless you buy shares of substantially the same mutual fund. Normally, unless you bought shares of the same fund, you do not have wash sale. I am assuming that this is the first time you have sold any shares of this mutual fund. If you have sold shares previously, let me know. Captial gains are calculated on the difference between your selling price and your basis. Your basis is your investment in the stock. Add up all of your purchases and dividend reinvestments and that will be the basis in the stock. If you have held any of the shares for less than 1 year prior to the sale, those shares are a short term capital gain/loss. All of the share that you held longer than a year are long term. You will need to separate the long term gains/loss from the short term gains/loss. Hope this helps. Joan, your friendly tax person

I talked to my contact on Friday and the check-cutting paperwork is in process. (It's been approved and has crossed his desk towards being cut.) In the same call, he also informed me that he has resigned... Doesn't know where he'll go or what he'll do, but said he just couldn't work there anymore. A sorry state of affairs.

I agree that very few of them beat the averages ... how could they? They have offices to run, computers, phones, postage and staff ... and buy and sell a lot of stocks, and though their fees are low, many of them pretty well turn over their whole portfolio annually. Those that do that ... have a lot of capital gain to report to you (you hope!) annually ... of which the income tax people want their, in that case, ongoing, share. And they have that management expense fee (often higher than the income tax cost) that reduces their effective rate - and they get their guaranteed rate, whether they produce or not! Also - when it comes time to sell those units, you'd better have kept records of not just your original cost ... but also of all of those declared payouts that were reivested, in order to calculate your capital gain. Many mutual funds keep track of your average cost per unit ... that works O.K. ... until they get bought out/merged, etc. and usually the new system just starts from when they took over. Have you checked Morningstar, the agency that rates them? What about learning how money works and buying individual stocks yourself? I bought shares in one of Canada's half dozen or so nationwide banks over 40 years ago for about $4.20 per share, that was paying about a dime or a bit more as annual dividend. A year ago May each of those shares was "worth" (i.e. "could be sold for") $107.00 ... but they were heavily involved with the U.S. stinky problem mortgage situation, so their price slipped down through the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s into the 50s ... and have recovered a bit to low 60s. Some here recently said that, of course, I sold ... no, I hadn't. Partly, at the time of the high price, didn't have any idea that it would slide so far ... plus, it went from 4.5 doubles in 41 years to about 4 doubles in those years ... which, apart from the increased income via dividends over those 40 years, is a pretty good rate of growth. But if I were about to buy more bank shares, it'd be a different one, as this is not their first goof in recent years. Recently dividend rate grew from $2.80 to $3.08 to $3.48, which earlier in Canada were tax-advantaged, and recently that advantage increased substantially: so that a person with solely that kind of income went from tax-free $28,000. - 30,000. tax-free, to $46,345. tax-free, an increase of over 60% in one year. Further ... I've subscribed to what I consider Canada's best personal money management magazine for quite a number of years, that carries no ads, is pretty well all text - and the writers respond to subscribers' questions. Local subscribers meet regularly in about 40 places across Canada and I've met with about 20 others monthly here for about 8 years or so: many perspectives and I've learned a lot, there. Cost? Gas to get there, wear and tear on the car - plus, time ... a couple of hours a month, and another at the coffee house after, with a few of the guys and gals. If I'd put that $4.20 into the average even equity-based mutual fund 41 years ago, would the size of that asset have doubled that well? Rather doubtful, I think. A couple of mine have - several haven't. But I don't want to dump 'em this year, due to forced sale of a major holding - Canada's largest telco going private (damn it!). And that's with the income reinvested - and my shares paid me dividends quarterly, with frequent increases, for 41 years. However - the big proviso - the average growth rate has not been that good. I've avoided some taxes as I went along, but that piper will have to be paid, one of these days. Whether while I'm alive ... or for my executor to take care of, before dispersal of my estate to my kids and charities. Had I put that $4.20 into a bank account, GIC, bond, etc. where the number of dollars of principal has been guaranteed, would I have developed any such result? No way! Apart altogether from the tax advantages in the equity-based game (whether of the mutual fund or individual investment variety)! Did I say earlier ... that I prefer to run my own show? Further ... though it was 60 years ago, I grew up on a farm, and farmers are used to irregular income, with loss of some potential income when a cow dies, or reduced yields due to drought or flood (but the price of diesel fuel, fertilizer had to be paid, regardless). And seasonal income, for many. How many town folks could handle getting paid once or twice a year? Plus, they manipulate not only capital, but labour - to repair the tractor, or trade it on a bigger one? Which would require getting bigger tillage equipment, as well. Put a new roof on the barn, this year ... or build it larger? Farmers were much more used to uncertainty than city folks. Or, rather, than city folks used to be. Now, with pensions shrinking and disappearing like fog in the morning sun ... and, in many areas, the values of one's equity in one's owned home (well, "partly-owned", considering the mortgage), and with employment being uncertain, with full-time work scarcer, there have been major changes in the economic picture for city folks, as well. Back up and look at the far horizon ... occasionally, at least. Good wishes for increasingly more effective use of not only your income, but of your assets, as well. ole joyful