Sure, every professional hockey player would go for the big bucks that can be had in the endorsements business, but with the right structuring and planning, even modest deals can have significant impact on long term financial security, lower tax and better income.

Income from endorsements is one of the only sources of income a player can earn in Canada that gets special treatment from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. This income can be paid to a corporation that you own and up to $400K a year can be taxed at the low corporate rate of 17%. This makes it the most valuable money you can earn on a net basis.

Some people minimize the value of this, since the investment growth is taxed as it would be in your own hands, and claim it's only a deferral since you have to pay dividend tax when it's later withdrawn, but that is only true with poor planning.

At Strategic Edge, we use a program we designed to shelter the growth on investments from tax, prompting Canada's largest accounting firm to refer to it as being "like an RRSP for your company".

The similarity is only on tax free growth however, because when we access funds in retirement, there is still no tax payable, which not only improves cash flow, but also lowers your average tax rate.

Consider the math in simple terms: If the company earns $400K, it pays only 68K in tax, for a net of 332K. To net the same money from regular source income would take over $550K, so you can see why we call this your most valuable income on a net tax basis.

But when we add in our program to manage the 332K left over, it gets even better. A 28 year old could do a program based on these numbers for only five years, and still expect an after-tax income from age 50 of $200,000./year for life, using conservative rates for projected growth. That's the equivalent of a normal pre-tax pension income of $350,000. a year, and that's not a bad income supplement.

So, from big marketing deals to smaller, more selective endorsements, proper structuring and planning can make it the most valuable money you earn. We'd be pleased to provide a quote at no cost to you, or just sit down and talk about it; with you or someone you trust.

You can be assured, we know the rules of the game, and this is our game.