Canadian Payroll Reporter

THE COMPLIANCE AND STRATEGY SOURCE FOR PAYROLL AND HR PROFESSIONALS IN THIS ISSUE HOLD ON TO THAT PENSION PAPERWORK Decision on 30-year claim emphasizes importance of good records . . . . . . . . . . . 3 NEWS BRIEFS Ontario set to increase minimum wage; TFSA adoptions increases 23 per cent in 2013: Survey; Top Canadian CEOs earn average worker's salary by Jan. 2; Alberta introduces new salary and severance disclosure policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ASK AN EXPERT What is the deadline to remit all payments owing when an employee quits? . . . . . . . 11 Ontario public sector execs could see pay cap But austerity won't attract the best, brightest: Experts | BY LIZ BERNIER | IT'S CERTAINLY NOT the first time On- tario's public sector compensation has become a hot-button political issue. (It won't be the last time, either). But soar- ing salaries for the province's top-level executives have dominated headlines, political debate and water-cooler chat- ter in recent months. In November, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath introduced a proposal to cap public sector executives' salaries at $418,000 — twice the premier's an- nual salary. The bill failed, but Ontario's ruling minority Liberal government has vowed to present its own wage restraint continued on page 2 FEBRUARY 2014 PM #40065782 Paying employees via Bitcoins? It's possible Payroll software provider integrates emerging digital currency into its service offerings | BY ZACHARY PEDERSEN | BITCOIN SOUNDS LIKE something from the future — an online currency developed using computer code, regulated by an anonymous web-based community. It has worth because "as long as someone is willing to accept it, it essentially has value." It also sounds like it's a scam — but it's not. Online retail stores have begun accepting Bitcoin. Last year, Canadian e- commerce platform Shopify enabled its more than 80,000 online stores to accept Bitcoin as an online payment option. This could lead to an uptake in Bitcoin because, in 2013, those merchants using Shopi- fy's platform generated $1.86 billion in sales. Now, a Canadian payroll software provider has integrated it into its prod- uct, allowing employers to give employ- ees the option to convert and deposit a portion of their net pay directly into Bitcoins. "We think that the way that the world works is changing and so is compensa- tion," says Shrad Rao, CEO of Toronto- based Wagepoint Payment Services. "Our job is to basically keep up with the trend." Wagepoint wanted to integrate the currency because it recognized Bitcoin has fundamentally the same function as any other currency, Rao says. "It's a substitute from what exists to- day," he says. "It functions like a regular currency, the only difference is it was built in a lab." Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is a virtual currency maintained by com- puter-based algorithms, rather than the government or a bank. They are created through a process termed "mining," which is when individ- uals use their computer to perform cal- culations with the objective of solving a puzzle. Because the puzzle is often very difficult, people form "mining pools" and collectively contribute computing power in exchange for a share of the virtual reward — Bitcoins. Unlike a federally-reg- ulated currency, there are no physical Bitcoins. In- stead, when coins are ex- changed, it is done over a publicly accessible peer-to-peer network. Through that network, it is possible to track the exchange of Bitcoins, but the parties remain anonymous. And because each exchange is recorded, theoretically every transaction should be accounted for. "Bitcoin transactions offer as much privacy as one desires," says Ian Molen- dyk, director of sales at Canadian Virtual Exchange (VirtEx), a Bitcoin exchange. A Bitcoin exchange is an online trad- ing outlet that allows individuals to buy and sell Bitcoins with Canadian funds. Wagepoint has partnered with VirtEx. When an employee decides to convert a portion of his pay into Bitcoins, VirtEx automatically exchanges the specified amount at the current market rate. "It functions like a regular currency, the only difference is it was built in a lab." Continued on page 10

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