Membership Benefits
ActionsYour Co-op membership offers you a lifetime of rewards including the promise of high-quality products and service at competitive prices. We also offer the potential for annual cash-back and an equity account that grows over time, as well as the opportunity to get involved as a member-owner. This makes us a different kind of business; our profits are your profits and they are invested directly back into the community through you.
Our Profits are Your Profits
Members are owners. They have the ability to participate in the democratic process at their local association’s annual meeting, which includes asking questions, proposing/voting on resolutions, becoming a board member and electing board members.
As owners, members also receive a portion of any profits earned by their local co-operative association. Over the past five years, local associations across Western Canada have returned almost $1.4 billion to their members.
The amount members potentially receive is based on a percentage of their purchases throughout the year, which is distributed in two ways: annual cash back or equity. Like a savings account, every member has an equity account that grows over time. Decisions and policies on profit-sharing are made locally and vary between co-operative associations.
Visit one of our locations or visit our Co-op Membership Benefits website to sign up or for more information about membership and its benefits.
Understanding your T4A
T4A’s are mailed out in February of each year to members who received a member refund in excess of $100 in April the preceding year. Please keep your address current.
Armstrong Regional Co-op is required by CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) to report all member refunds paid in excess of $100 and to withhold 15% of the amount earned over $100 and remit it to the government. The T4A reflects the member refund made to you in the previous year. Member Refunds are not necessarily taxable. Member Refunds earned on consumer goods (i.e. Gasoline for private car use) are not subject to tax. You are entitled to claim the tax withheld as outlined on your T4A as a credit when you file your personal income tax (write on the face of your T4A “Consumer Goods Only”).
Note: The amount indicated in Box 30 of your T4A is the TOTAL patronage allocation amount for the tax year. This number is the total allocation of cash and equity, not the amount of your patronage cheque.