Fall Federal Budget: Will Spending Be Cut?

Canada has historically presented an annual budget since Confederation in 1867, even through periods like World Wars and the Great Depression, but we have recently experienced the longest period without a full federal budget in our history. By the time the next one is brought down, expected in October 2025, it will have been 18 months since the controversial April 2024 budget which introduced the doomed capital gains inclusion rate hikes. What can we expect?

New data shows that younger generations face a higher tax burden than the generations before them. In addition, they anticipate having to fund a higher proportion of their retirement with personal savings, as few will have pensions or inheritances to fall back on. They will need help from highly trained Real Wealth Managers who understand their fiscal plight and are willing to build long term relationships.

Like many industries today, the bookkeeping, tax filing and financial services are undergoing a major transformation. A key issue that’s emerging: the control of private financial data and after-tax results in a digital world. Highly-trained specialists, can bring big value as financial intermediaries and risk managers for their clients who are concerned about control of their financial records.

Family businesses are facing the most explosive challenge in a generation.  A new book by Jenifer Bartman and Evelyn Jacks addresses the challenge head on, and explains how advisors and their clients who are business leaders can defuse this potential time bomb: late succession planning.  Advisors can also shore up their professional skills by studying the problem in depth in a new certificate course from Knowledge Bureau.

According to Statistics Canada*in 2016, 4.9% or 289,000 of 4.9 million seniors in Canada were living in poverty. Yet, more than one in ten seniors who are eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) didn't receive it in 2016-17. This is a big concern because, in fact, the number of seniors living in poverty is on the rise. So what’s the problem?

The CRA has been facing extensive scrutiny against their own service standards. Now, in a new initiative they are exploring ways for taxpayers to access their own accounts, protect their privacy, and verify their identity in government offices without the hassle of requiring them to bring multiple forms of identification. In addition, the initiative will make it easier for government agencies, banks and provincial licensing offices to share information with the CRA.

Despite the Bank of Canada’s recent interest rate hold and decreasing mortgage rates, many families are on the brink of being unable to pay all of their bills. This, as new carbon taxes are about to emerge in some of the hardest hit provinces. Early tax filing may help.