ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would only allow purchase of vehicles, loans from banks, participation in the bidding process, supplies to government departments/ consultants, procurement in government departments and other activities to those National Tax Number (NTN) holders who show some tax activity duly recorded by the FBR.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Friday that the FBR has finalised the plan to check misuse of NTNs and improve compliance of NTN holders, who are neither showing any tax activity nor filing their income tax returns. The repeated use of NTN without showing tax activity would be effectively checked under the new plan. As per Income Tax Ordinance 2001, every NTN holder is required to file the income tax return. It has been observed by the FBR almost 50 percent of the NTN holders do not file their returns even after obtaining the NTNs. These persons have obtained the NTNs during the last many years, but are showing no business activity or compliance by filing of returns. In this way, a number of people use their NTNs in various activities such as purchase of car, participation in the bidding process against various tenders floated by government departments and registered companies, suppliers to government departments and consultants, processing of business visas (where required), obtaining loans from banks and etc. Because these categories of people are able to simply write down their NTNs and provide the copy of NTNs which fulfill the basic requirement of the NTN holder which is mostly required in the bidding process and supplies of various goods. The NTN holders not engaged in any kind of tax activity are to be declared as Dormant Taxpayers.

Subsequently, the persons who would consistently show compliance will be considered as active or compliant taxpayers. The persons who would be non-active or dormant would be considered as unregistered with the tax department. The non-compliant persons would be treated as non-registered persons as per FBRs database, sources explained.

In order to improve the compliance level of NTN holders, FBR has decided to classify the NTN Master Index into four broader categories–Active Taxpayers, Non-Active Taxpayers, Live Taxpayers and Dormant Taxpayers.

After introduction of the amendments in the tax laws, sources said,  the FBR will enter the category of best tax administrations where NTN holders and compliant taxpayers are recognised in the society as respectable personalities because only active taxpayers will be able to import, export, provider services and carry out other activities. The voluntary compliance is expected to be improved under the new plan.

Details show that the FBR has decided to define Active Taxpayers, Non-Active Taxpayers, Live Taxpayers and Dormant Companies to clearly differentiate between the compliant and non-compliant taxpayers for obtaining legal backing to identify non-filers or National Tax Number (NTN) holders, who have closed their businesses etc.

Under the NTN Master Index, the Live Taxpayers would cover such persons who have shown some kind of tax activity and recorded in the books of BFR. Within the database of Live Taxpayers, the FBR would classify the Active Taxpayers or Non-Active Taxpayers, depending on the activity of the person. Based on the data of the Live Taxpayers, the classification of Active Taxpayers or Non-Active Taxpayers would be done by the FBR. As FBR would only monitor the Live Taxpayers, the FBR can effectively do enforcement through limited Human Recourses for monitoring of the live taxpayers.

Sources stated that the FBR has decided to amend the Income Tax Rules 2002 to clearly define Active Taxpayers, Non-Active Taxpayers, Live Taxpayers and Dormant Companies. There are a large number of persons, who have obtained the National Tax Numbers (NTNs) for local purchase of new vehicles or properties. In other cases, people have obtained the NTNs but they have closed their businesses or are not available on the declared addresses. There is a need for clear definition of Dormant Companies so that data of such closed companies should be deleted from the NTN Master Index. Within the FBRs database, the Board has to specify the category of Live Taxpayers for constant upgrading of the database. The definitions of the said categories of persons would also be instrumental in the cleansing of the NTN Master Index.

However, the criterion for treating any unit as Dormant Company would be mentioned in the amended Income Tax Rules. Similarly, the FBR will explain that how a company would be considered as Live Taxpayer under the NTN Master Index. The persistent filers of returns or non-filers would be distinguished for placing them under the specified category of the NTN Master Index. For example, if a person is persistent non-filer of return, he could be declared as Non-Active Taxpayers.

The amended Income Tax Rules would also explain that how the Non-Active Taxpayers could be converted into Active Taxpayers or Live Taxpayers. The difference between the Active Taxpayers or Live Taxpayers would also be explained in the amended Income Tax Rules, sources maintained.

According to sources, the purpose of the amendments in Income Tax Rules is to specify that which type of companies would be considered as Active Taxpayers or Non-Active Taxpayers.

It is well documented that laughter releases endorphins, and that leads to a sense of well-being and optimism. Now apply this to the workplace as one California researcher recently did. His study showed that people who enjoy a little fun and humour on the job tend to be more creative, are more effective at decision making and get along better with others. These employees also chalk up fewer absent, late and sick days.

Are there risks associated with having more fun in the workplace? Sure there are, and they should not be overlooked. The main issue is that because everyone has their own definition, what may be considered fun to one person could be decidedly unfun to another. There is also the risk that jokes will get out of hand or cross appropriate boundaries. It should be clearly spelled out that humour must be free of prejudice, racism or sexism and should never hurt the feelings or damage the character of a fellow co-worker.

Some people argue that a fun work environment is frivolous and a distraction from serious business. This is why management needs to demonstrate the importance of balancing work with fun without letting any deadlines, meetings or other responsibilities slip.

So, a la David Lettermans signature-style list, here are the Top 10 Reasons Why Fun Improves the Workplace:

No. 10: Having fun breaks up the monotony and the mundane. It alleviates the boredom and fatigue associated with routine, non-challenging tasks. At school, recess gives kids an outlet to have fun and an opportunity to relax so they can come back to class recharged and ready to contribute. Why did we ever give that up?

No. 9: Having fun fulfils the need for human interaction. With our noses to the grindstones, it is too easy to let an eight-hour day slip away without so much as a coffee break. By instituting a little group fun and encouraging employees to step away from their workspace, they get to be more social. Interacting with each other helps create a sense of purpose and belonging.

No. 8: Having fun boosts creativity. Workplace fun doesnt have to be silly. In fact, any task that sparks inspiration, innovation and imagination can be fun. Be creative in how you trigger your people to think outside the box: Ill take clever teamwork ideas for 500, Alex.

No. 7: Having fun encourages team building. Because they are communicating more frequently in a relaxed, casual way, personal relationships build faster among teams when they are having fun in their everyday work. This builds a stronger, more effective team.

No. 6: Having fun is measurable in employee satisfaction. Compare the absentee and turnover rates before and after you instituted a little fun into the workplace. Happier employees feel better about their company, their jobs and their futures. Customers see it, too.

No. 5: Having fun can rally support for change. Change is scary to most people, so making change part of something more enjoyable can take the fear out and put the fun into it. For instance, when implementing a new process, encourage feedback, throw a pizza party, organize a prize draw — anything to positively reinforce the change in a fun way.

No. 4: Having fun increases employee loyalty. People who enjoy doing something tend to do it more often and do it for longer periods of time. Its the same with work. If employees are having fun, they are more likely to stay, which provides greater value to the organization.

No. 3: Having fun reduces tension and conflict. People who interact more with one another build greater understanding and tolerance; therefore, if they know each other better, they are more likely to be able to effectively resolve any personal differences that may arise.

No. 2: Having fun positively reflects on leadership. Managers who can bring a little levity are seen as team players. By clearly demonstrating the need to strike a healthy balance between fun and work (as well as to not take some things so seriously) it encourages others to follow their lead.

And the No. 1 Reason Why Fun Improves the Workplace: Having fun is, well, fun. Everyone wants their job to be more enjoyable and lets face it, if its fun, youll put more effort into it. A job well done gives you greater personal satisfaction, which brings about more happiness. In turn, this creates fulfilment and enjoyment in other areas of your life.

– With reporting by Barbara Chabai

Colleen Coates, CHRP, CCP, is a practice leader with People First HR Services Ltd. She can be contacted at ccoates@peoplefirsthr.com

RESEARCH:

http://www.workplaceissues.com/arhumor.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2003-08-21-fun_x.htm

http://learnthis.ca/2010/07/fun-in-the-workplace/

Although the natural deterioration of the body due to ageing is inevitable, Ayurveda does address the main causes of premature ageing.

Foodwise this would include overeating, eating at the wrong times, eating when suffering from indigestion and excessive consumption of the following:

• sour, salty and spicy foods
• alkali foods (those that have a high quantity of preservatives such as baking soda)
• tinned foods
• oily or deep-fried foods
• non-vegetarian foods
• alcohol

Various lifestyle tendencies cause premature ageing as well. These include sleeping during the daytime and keeping awake at nights; overexertion or stress; and negative emotions. The branch of Ayurveda that specialises in the extension our lsquo;health span is called Rasayana.

JEFFREY BROWN: Just three weeks ago, the administration announced that religiously affiliated schools, hospitals and other institutions had to cover birth control free of cost. Roman Catholic officials, in particular, charged the mandate would force them to violate their own teachings.

Today, the president said the revised plan would address that objection.

BARACK OBAMA: Under the rule women will still have access to free, preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where they work. So that core principle remains.

But if a womans employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company — not the hospital, not the charity — will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge without co-pays and without hassles.

JEFFREY BROWN: The president of the Catholic Health Association, representing Catholic hospitals, welcomed the decision.

Sister Carol Keehan said in a statement, The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.

The head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was more restrained. Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan said, Todays decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction.

Groups that supported the birth control mandate, from Planned Parenthood to the National Organization for Women, backed the compromise.

Louise Melling is deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union.

LOUISE MELLING, American Civil Liberties Union: We were pleased that, today, the Obama administration made perfectly clear its longstanding commitment to contraceptive coverage, that it made clear, again, and reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that women across the country, no matter where they work, will be able to have coverage for contraception.

JEFFREY BROWN: For their part, Republican presidential candidates kept up their criticism of the original mandate.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke at a gathering of conservative activists in Washington.

NEWT GINGRICH (R): Our core document says we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. And Barack Obama seeks to cut across those.

And I, frankly, dont care what deal he tries to cut, this is a man who is deeply committed — if he wins reelection, he will wage war on the Catholic Church the morning after hes reelected. We cannot trust him, we should — we know who he really is, and we should make sure the country knows who he really is.

(APPLAUSE)

JEFFREY BROWN: At that same conference, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum accused the administration of overreach. He spoke shortly before the presidents remarks.

RICK SANTORUM (R): This is the kind of coercion that we can expect. Its not about contraception. Its about economic liberty. Its about freedom of speech. Its about freedom of religion. Its about government control of your lives. And its got to stop.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JEFFREY BROWN: Mitt Romney didnt directly respond to the Obama announcement, but he vowed that his would be a pro-life presidency.

MITT ROMNEY (R): And I will reverse every single Obama regulation that attacks our religious liberty and threatens innocent life in this country.

JEFFREY BROWN: The president today suggested the political uproar should die down now that the policy has changed.

BARACK OBAMA: I understand some folks in Washington may want to treat this as another political wedge issue, but it shouldnt be. I certainly never saw it that way.

This is an issue where people of good will on both sides of the debate have been sorting through some very complicated questions to find a solution that works for everyone. With todays announcement, weve done that.

JEFFREY BROWN: With the president hoping to put the birth control furor behind him, aides will be watching to see if Republicans in Congress push ahead with emergency legislation on the issue.

RAY SUAREZ: This afternoon, I spoke about the presidents decision with Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. She spoke from the front lawn of the White House, where construction has been under way for more than a year, work that resumed during our interview.

Secretary Sebelius, welcome back to the NewsHour.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Thank you. Nice to be with you, Ray.

RAY SUAREZ: Could the administration have avoided a damaging fight over contraception coverage by announcing this policy in the first place?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I think what people missed is that the announcement that I made two weeks ago suggested that we were moving ahead with the exemption that had been originally drafted, but, also, we would spend time reaching out to stakeholders, to religious employers who objected to offering this coverage, and we would spend a year finding arrangements that both respected their religious liberty, but made sure at the end of the day that women employees of these institutions, whether she was a university professor or a nurse or a janitor, could make their own determination about very important preventive health care.

RAY SUAREZ: Did you have any idea what was coming? Were you warned by administration colleagues about possible backlash?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, there were certainly people who felt we should broaden the exemption greatly.

I think the president from the outset determined that he was not willing to have millions of American women bear the financial burden of their employer deciding they should not access contraception, a drug that is the most frequently used prescription drug of women 14 to 40, and that often has a serious financial cost, up to $600 if a woman is paying out of pocket for it.

So, on one hand, we wanted to make sure that the preventive health benefits, no co-pays, no co-insurance applied to the whole range of IOM recommendations, so keep the exemption narrow, for churches and church affiliates, but also use the time to look at the 28 states which have mandatory contraceptive coverage, see what arrangements were satisfactory to the various Catholic institutions who right now offer that coverage, universities and hospitals, and deem that to be effective going forward.

When the firestorm broke out, the president basically said, we have got to speed up this process. Lets find a solution respecting religious liberty and guaranteeing that millions of women in America, and really all women in America now, have insurance policies that will have a range of health services needed by them and their families without co-pays and co-insurance to make sure they can access them.

RAY SUAREZ: So, you mentioned the administration spoke to religious institutions beforehand. Have you spoken to them about this latest adjustment, this latest change of policy?

Its reported that President Obama has already spoken to Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, one of the senior leaders of the Catholic Church.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, I dont — I know he has reached out to Archbishop Dolan. I know he has spoken to Sister Carol Keehan from the Catholic Health Association, who has issued a statement very supportive of this rule that were going to publish in the federal register today.

I know he has spoken to Cecile Richards from Planned Parenthood, who was also very supportive of the rules we put out today. We are going to be — again, as we develop the specifics around this regulation, work with insurance companies, work with institutions.

But I think this does exactly what the president asked us to do, which is make sure that millions of women, regardless of who their employer is, can make their own health decisions, have access to this full range of very important preventive health services, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine, and at the same time respect the religious liberty of their employers who may object to either paying for or directly offering this coverage.

RAY SUAREZ: Secretary, can we talk about mechanics? If youve just taken a new job at a religiously based hospital or university, your employee paperwork is silent on reproductive health care, what happens next?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, typically, if you are a new employee and in an insured plan, the insurance company or the variety of insurance companies are the ones who actually publish the benefit package.

So, in this case, again, the insurance company would be reaching out to employees, making it clear that it is their choice whether to access contraceptive benefits. And what we know, Ray, is that actually this is a no-cost benefit, that the National Business Council on Health, that our actuaries, a variety of people in group plans say having contraception as part of a group insurance plan actually lowers the overall cost, doesnt increase it, because, on balance, preventive services around family planning, avoiding what may be unhealthy pregnancies, avoiding the health consequences of that actually is a cost reducer.

So we have a situation where the insurance companies directly offer this benefit to the women employees, and the religious employer doesnt pay for it, doesnt refer to it, and doesnt have to offer it.

RAY SUAREZ: You say money from the religious institutions doesnt pay for this, but isnt money fungible?

If a Catholic nonprofit is paying for your insurance coverage, isnt it paying for contraception if you are getting the coverage through that same insurer?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well, again, Ray, in this case, actuaries have looked at this benefit.

The federal employees health plan, when contraception was added to federal employees benefit, which is the largest employee group in the country, costed this as no cost, free, no cost, because adding contraception and having some employees take advantage of that coverage lowers the overall cost of the health plan.

So we have that in place around the country. We have actuaries that have inserted that, and so were not — this isnt a shell game of passing the costs along. This is a real no-cost option that is, according to the National Business Council on Health, could reduce an insurance plan by about 15 percent. Were not counting on that.

But I think we can say very safely that this doesnt add to the cost of either the employers plan — and we know that women, if they have to purchase this coverage outside of a health plan, could spend up to $600, which is a substantial financial barrier to access a very important health benefit and a benefit used by 99 percent of women across this country at some point in their lives.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, youve transferred the administrative burden to insurance companies. Are insurers ready to pay? Have they signed on?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: We will be doing just that.

But as part of the Affordable Care Act, our department will define the rules under which we offer these benefits. And were confident that this works and that insurers are prepared to step up and do this. Again, this is in place in many states in the country right now, where there is an insurance company providing benefits to employees, and the employer not directly offering those benefits.

RAY SUAREZ: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Madam Secretary, thanks for joining us.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Great to be with you, Ray.

Businesses that suffered economic losses as a result of the disaster and want to apply for low-interest loans from the SBA are urged to do so before the Jan. 30 deadline, said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) up to $2 million are available at 4 percent for small businesses and 3 percent for private nonprofit organizations of all sizes, with terms up to 30 years. The loans are intended to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other expenses that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. To be considered for this assistance, disaster victims need to apply by the deadline.

Among the qualified counties for the loans are Santa Rosa and Escambia counties in Florida, and Escambia County, Alabama.

To obtain disaster loan information and application forms, call the SBAs Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for deaf and hard-of hearing) or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan application forms can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov .

Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from the SBAs website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ .

The deadline for economic injury applications is January 30, 2012.

The claim from Thomas Quigley of ClaimLinx came during a Porter
County Council meeting to address health insurance for the countys
employees.

By using tax laws efficiently, Quigley said his company could
offer between $2,000 and $4,000 savings per employee annually.

ClaimLinx has more than 200 clients in 18 states and one city –
Huntington – in Indiana. Quigley said his companys fee to Porter
County, if it used his services, would be 20 percent of every
dollar in net savings.

Quigley, who self-published the book How to Beat the High Cost
of Health Care, said his system if used nationally could save the
country a trillion a year.

Michael Anton, of Anton Insurance, the servicing agent for
Porter County, told the council that Quigleys claims sound almost
too good to be true.

It deserves a lot more investigation and then I can give you a
more accurate assessment, Anton said.

Councilman Jim Biggs, 1st District, said ClaimLinx intrigues
me but would like to see Anton and Quigley work together.

Council President Dan Whitten wants to see what other approaches
are available.

What are other groups doing? he said. I want to know all
options. We like to bid things out. Surely theyre not the only
group.

Prior to ClaimLinxs presentation, Randy Gomez of Nyhart, an
actuary and employee benefits consulting firm in Indianapolis, told
the board that its most popular option in its health plan, which
has about 490 of 600 employees enrolled, is a dinosaur plan.

Rampur / Moradabad, Feb 11 (ANI): Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has said Congress President Sonia Gandhi is an emotional woman and is deeply concerned about the well being of citizens in the country.

See, if any such incident occurs, like if any citizen of our country is killed, even if he belongs to any caste or creed, it is natural for Sonia Gandhi to have tears in her eyes, because she is very emotional and does not want any such unfortunate incident to take place in the country, Jaiswal told media after Law Minister Salman Khurshid had said the pictures of Batla House encounter had brought tears to Sonia Gandhis eyes,

Commenting on issue, Lok Manch Party leader Jayaprada said that Gandhi was a dignified woman and she respected her ability to face constant hardships in her life.

See, Sonia Gandhi is a woman, who I respect a lot. She has faced a lot of hardships in life and she has sacrificed a lot too. Knowing the reality, she gave up everything and she has dedicated her life to politics, which is why I respect her, Jayaprada said in Moradabad.arlier, Khurshid said: We spoke to the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi. When we showed photographs of that incident to Mrs. Gandhi, she wept bitterly and requested us not to show her those pictures. She told us to speak to the PM immediately. But due to election we could not take that idea, he said.

Batla House encounter officially known as Operation Batla House, took place on September 19, 2008, against suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists in Batla House locality in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, in which two suspected terrorist, Atif Amin and Mohamed Sajid, two other suspects Mohd Saif and Zeeshan were arrested, while one accused Ariz Khan managed to escape.

Encounter specialist and Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who led the police action was killed during the incident. (ANI)

Beerman will receive the 2011 Dr. Derek Puddester Award for Resident Well-Being at the Canadian Association of Interns and Residents dinner in Ottawa on Saturday.

Medical students are required to serve a residency before becoming doctors. The experience traditionally involves long, often stressful hours of work and training that can push residents to the breaking point.

Beerman has worked to change that locally, provincially and nationally. He is chairman of University of British Columbia Family Medicine Residency Resilience Committee, which works to improve conditions for residents.

Beerman doesnt like the publicity and doesnt consider the award of interest outside the medical community.

I have a lot of respect for Dr. Beerman, but I disagree, said Dr. Simon Moore, a Nanaimo resident, who nominated Beerman. I think a happy doctor provides better care. A happy doctor is able to learn better.

Since his focus is on family medicine, that work is important to the public.

Doctors who are well-rested and have a good work-life balance experience lower levels of stress. Theyll be able to retain more information and take better care of patients.

Beerman has long strived to improve the conditions for new doctors.

Historically, residents were abused, Beerman said. We are trying to change the culture of that, which has substantially changed already.

Beerman acknowledged the public derives benefits when residents working conditions are improved, but noted it helps relationships between doctors, specialists and other health-care professionals, too.

Beerman has practised family medicine in Nanaimo since 1987 and has been the Nanaimo site director for the UBC Faculty of Medicine, Postgraduate Family Medicine Residency Program since 2006.

A UBC medical school and family medicine residency program graduate, he holds degrees in science (biochemistry) and rehabilitation medicine (physiotherapy and occupational therapy).

His initiatives include: allowing residents to familiarize themselves with Nanaimo with a month-long family medicine rotation; implementing academic weeks instead of half-days; and replacing 24-hour call with a call model designed to better balance call/clinic requirements with rest periods and promotion of a culture of wellness by ensuring residents look after themselves.

In 2010, Beerman received the Residents Advocate Award from the Professional Association of Residents of BC He is the president of the International Lifesaving Federation and has a seat on the International Olympic Committee as the lifesaving representative and advocates for drowning prevention through World Health Organization and United Nations initiatives.

DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235

The late German chancellor created the worlds first publicly funded pension plan in 1889, and is deemed by financial writers Bruce Cohen and Brian FitzGerald to be the global inspiration behind Old Age Security.

Now Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada will adopt austerity measures during these times of deficits and mushrooming debt, and there are rumours the eligibility age for receiving OAS benefits will rise to 67 from 65.

Politicians are arguing over whom the changes would affect (apparently not current recipients), how quickly they would be phased in (experts say over at least 20 years) and just how much money the change would save.

But OAS is just one piece of the retirement income puzzle, and many things are also happening to the other pieces.

Changes to Canada Pension Plan will penalize people more for starting to receive benefits before age 65, and reward them more for starting benefits after 65.

The percentage of Canadians with employer pension plans has fallen from 41 per cent in 1991 to 33 per cent currently.

Only 25 per cent of private-sector workers have a company pension, and only 18 per cent of those have defined-benefit plans where money managers do the investing, and take on the risk.

All of these changes highlight the fact that the guaranteed portion of retirement income is shrinking, and people have to accept responsibility in creating and managing more of their retirement income themselves.

Tina De Vito, head of BMO Retirement Institute and author of 52 Ways to Wreck Your Retirement – and How to Rescue It, said in conference call: Irrespective of any of the changes to any types of pensions, we cant rely on someone else taking care of our retirement futures. Everyones needs do differ. Take charge, make saving for retirement a priority, manage your debt load, and dont enter retirement with debt.

Tomorrows retired workforce wont be able to enjoy the same standard of living as todays, in part because savings rates are at all-time lows, investment returns have declined over the last 10 years, and life expectancy has been increasing year-over-year.

A report just released by BMO Financial Group says: In an era where the true pension – a guaranteed lifetime income stream which does not run out and which does not lose purchasing power – is becoming the exception rather than the rule, individuals must assume responsibility for their own retirement well-being and make choices.

The report found that half of Canadian workers have already had five or more employers, only nine per cent said they would likely change employers for a better pension, and only seven per cent said a good company pension was the most important reason for joining a company (47 per cent listed wages and 22 per cent cited work flexibility).

The study showed that the most important thing employees wanted in a corporate pension was company matching of contributions, and next most important was control, namely the ability to do their own investing.

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More From Businessweek

• Obama Says Contraception Rule Will Meet Religious Concerns
• Private-Equity Lobbying Helped Protect Romney’s Tax Benefits
• Komen Official Quits After Feud With Planned Parenthood
• Blackstone’s James Sees Anti-Buyout Campaigns to Hurt Industry
• Private-Equity Rallies Around Mitt Romney’s Dodd-Frank Cure

By Cristina Alesci and Devin Banerjee

(Adds comments by Gogel, Pagliuca from 11th paragraph.)

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) — Mitt Romney’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination may be costing his private- equity backers a lot more than they bargained for.

Attacks by opponents portraying Bain Capital LLC, Romney and other buyout managers as corporate looters who enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary workers have put a spotlight on the industry that will affect negotiations about future investments, according to officials and trustees at public pensions. As firms struggle to raise funds, pensions may be more reluctant to commit money and may ask for more details on job creation and push for lower fees, these officials said.

“Private-equity managers’ wealth and tax rates are on display at a time when pensions are getting squeezed,” said Joseph Alejandro, treasurer of the New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. “Public investors should raise questions about whether the business is overly generous for managers. I hope the renewed attention on the industry will lead to discussions on fees and greater controls like claw-backs.”

The debate is affecting private-equity managers, including Romney’s former firm, Boston-based Bain Capital, as they’re competing for a shrinking pool of investor dollars. Fundraising slowed in the third quarter to the weakest pace since before the global financial crisis and stayed near that level in the final three months of the year, according to London-based researcher Preqin Ltd.

Political Attacks

U.S. public and private pensions provide 42 percent of the capital for all private-equity investments, according to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council in Washington. Public pensions are sensitive to protracted debates about managers’ compensation and whether buyouts create value and jobs, because they must answer to ordinary workers, said one official, who asked not to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the topic.

“The political attacks against Romney and Bain will definitely come up when firms pitch us their new funds,” said William Atwood, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Investment, which oversees $10.4 billion in pension funds. “You’d be crazy not to bring it up.”

The pension board had $621.3 million, or 6 percent of its assets, in private equity as of Dec. 31, according to its website.

Private-equity firms typically charge about 1.5 percent of assets to cover their expenses, and 20 percent of the profits from investments as compensation, or carried interest.

Institutional Investor Push

Pensions, endowments and sovereign-wealth funds, which comprise the majority of so-called limited partners in buyout funds, have pressed for better payouts and data from global private-equity managers in the wake of the financial crisis. Some of the biggest investors formed the Toronto-based Institutional Limited Partners Association, which introduced guidelines in 2009 addressing fees, governance and communication with clients. Blackstone Group LP, KKR & Co. and TPG Capital are among firms that have signed on.

In addition to the fees, which eat into returns for pensioners, private-equity managers have also been criticized for paying a lower tax rate on much of their income than ordinary wage earners. Carried interest is taxed at the lower, 15 percent rate for capital gains, rather than the 35 percent top rate that applies to regular income.

Gogel Sees Change

Donald Gogel, head of Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC, said today he would accept changes to the carried-interest tax rate. The spotlight shed on that issue by Romney’s campaign may lead to changes to the U.S. tax code, Gogel said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Erik Schatzker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I would like to see a progressive system that is far more simple,” Gogel said in the interview. The tax code “is not very efficient or fair across the board.”

Two-thirds of investors surveyed in the Bloomberg Global Poll say the tax break for carried interest isn’t warranted.

Buyout profits and their tax treatment helped make buyout pioneers such as Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of Blackstone and a supporter of Romney’s campaign, some of the richest Americans. Schwarzman, ranked the 66th-richest American by Forbes, held a fundraiser for Romney at his Park Avenue apartment on Dec. 14. He has opposed raising the tax on carried interest and endorsed a flat tax as part of comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax code.

Punishing Blackstone

U.S. pensions account for about 27 percent of assets at one of Blackstone’s largest funds, compared with 30 percent and 31 percent for comparable funds at Washington-based Carlyle Group LP and New York’s KKR, according to Preqin estimates based on the investors it tracks. Their influence was on display last year, when Blackstone lost out on a deal to manage hedge-fund investments for New York City’s public pensions after the firm’s chief strategist suggested retiree benefits were too generous.

Buyout funds globally are seeking to raise about $165 billion, more than in 2006 at the height of the fundraising boom. KKR, Warburg Pincus LLC and Providence Equity Partners LLC are garnering commitments.

Carlyle Group, which is preparing an initial public offering, and Silver Lake Management LLC are set to begin marketing funds, according to people familiar with the plans.

Search for Yield

Institutional investors stung by the financial crisis have been slow to commit to new buyout funds, which raised almost $214 billion in the second quarter of 2007, at the peak of the leveraged-buyout boom. Industrywide, firms raised $52.4 billion for 108 funds during the fourth quarter.

Bain, which late last year started gauging investor interest for a new buyout fund, relied on pensions for about 9 percent of client assets in a recent fund. The firm has traditionally raised most of its capital from foundations, endowments, family offices and wealthy individuals.

Alex Stanton, a spokesman for Bain Capital, declined to comment.

When Romney set out to raise Bain’s first fund in 1984, he steered clear of pension funds, pursuing ultra-high net worth individuals who contributed about $37 million to form the fund, according to a person who worked with Romney at the time. KKR’s co-founders, by contrast, received early capital from Oregon’s and Washington’s pensions, with the latter contributing $12 million to KKR’s first fund in 1982.

Bain’s Returns

The success of Bain’s first fund, which generated a 61 percent average annual return, according to marketing documents from 2004 obtained by Bloomberg News, helped attract other investors who wanted to share in the profits and allowed Bain to charge a premium for its investment services. The firm collects 30 percent of the profits it earns on its investments, the highest in the industry. Pensions historically have been less willing to pay Bain the higher performance fees.

With Romney keeping the spotlight on Bain, public plans may be reticent to invest now because of the controversy, said Heather L. Slavkin, senior legal and policy adviser for the office of investment at AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest union federation.

“Trustees are concerned about headline risk and there’s a headline on Bain every day,” said Slavkin, whose office advocates for the security of $480 billion of union-sponsored pensions. “Nobody wants their decisions under a microscope and trustees are no different. They don’t want to see their decisions questioned publicly.”

‘Heads Down’

For their part, many firms say the firestorm will blow over and pensions will come to rely more on private equity to meet their growing obligations to workers because traditional assets like stocks and bonds won’t return enough.

The Federal Reserve this month said it would keep interest rates low through 2014, driving investors into higher-yielding assets and pushing down borrowing costs for leveraged buyouts.

Bain Capital Managing Director Stephen Pagliuca, also speaking in Davos, said investors will stick with the firm and criticism of the private-equity industry will pass.

“Our limited partners have been with us for 28 years many of them,” he said in an interview with Erik Schatzker. “We just keep our heads down and try to build value.”

Romney’s Taxes

Under pressure from rivals, Romney, whose wealth is estimated at between $190 million and $250 million by his campaign, this month disclosed tax returns showing he paid a 13.9 percent tax rate in 2010 on income of $21.6 million.

Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said on Jan. 18 that he plans to reintroduce legislation that would tax carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Schwarzman, who said four months ago that he pays an effective personal income tax rate of 53 percent, has been less forthcoming. Blackstone, the world’s biggest private-equity firm, is reducing its voting rights in BankUnited Inc. by converting some shares so that Schwarzman doesn’t have to disclose his financial information to the U.S. Federal Reserve, a person familiar with the plans said earlier this month.

Peter Rose, a spokesman for Blackstone, declined to comment.

To mitigate the damage to private equity’s image, the industry’s lobbying group is starting a campaign to showcase its members’ contributions to the American economy, using testimonials of people who say private equity has helped their businesses grow. David Rubenstein, Carlyle’s co-founder, said Romney shouldn’t be criticized for the taxes he pays lawfully.

Still, said Atwood at the Illinois pension, the industry has little choice but to wait for an end of the attacks.

“We all know that private-equity managers make a lot of money and we know how they do their business, but when it’s on the front page it causes us to think twice when making investment decisions,” Atwood said. “Private equity is more lucrative when it’s kept quiet.”

–With assistance from Sabrina Willmer in New York and Christian Baumgaertel in Boston. Editors: Josh Friedman, Steven Crabill

To contact the reporters on this story: Cristina Alesci in New York at calesci2@bloomberg.net; Devin Banerjee in New York at dbanerjee2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net

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