Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

Of special interest to financial advisors, RWMs and experienced tax and bookkeeping professionals providing advice to their clients: the new Retirement and Estate Planning Update course is now available and includes the recorded instruction from the May 20 CE Summits.  It’s the perfect solution for those who can’t join us on May 20. Graduates earn 30 CE Credits and a full course credit towards the MFA™- Pension & Estate Services Specialist Designation Program. Take advantage of a long weekend special, too:

Knowledge Bureau is pleased to welcome back Investment Executive and Advisor’s Edge as the exclusive media partners for the 2021 Virtual DAC Acuity Conference from October 17-19.

A seasoned philanthropy professional, Kathy Arney has outstanding matchmaking skills.  She shares why the MFA-P™ Philanthropy Designation Program helped to improve them.

Good news for business investors!  The April 19, 2021 federal budget contained over $2 billion dollars in tax write-offs for investments made on or after budget day and before 2024 to a maximum claim of $1.5 million.  There are a few exceptions, but most property acquired used by CCPCs will qualify for a 100% write off when available for use, and this includes digital assets and intellectual property.

After gaining 300,000 jobs in March, Canada lost 207,000 jobs in April, primarily in locked down Ontario and British Columbia, according to Statistics Canada. The April unemployment rate also rose 0.6 percentage points to 8.1%. In a timely move, the April 19, 2021 Federal Budget proposed the new Canada Hiring Recovery Program, set to begin June 6, which would help pay for up to 50% of wages. Here is a how-to guide for employers hoping to tap in:

Despite the pandemic, a recent report finds business owners are remarkably resilient. As tax advisors round out the tax filing seasons with the June 15, 2021 filing deadline for proprietors, it’s a good time to have a high value discussion about what it takes to build long term growth taking root now. The secret may be how effective advisors are in counseling for business growth.  There are certain steps you can follow in the process.