Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

Health transition planning is an emerging trend, to be discussed in May at the CE Summits tour with special guest expert Karen Henderson. One way advisors can help is to keep an eye on recent tax issues for disabled Canadians – particularly those with diabetes. These taxpayers have struggled to access and retain two important government benefits, The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

Taxpayers may be rightly concerned about three new provisions regarding the taxation of mutual funds and ETFs. These changes affect retirement income certainty for Boomers’ investment funds that will be subject to new income calculations on redemptions of the investments, starting with fiscal years that begin after March 19, 2019.

The government continues to expand the Employment Insurance (EI) benefits available to Canadians, most recently to enable workers to take training supported with the new Canada Training Credit. But, when statistics show that EI take-up rates are on the decline*, are increases in EI premiums warranted?

Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefits payable were released on April 1 for the second quarter -  but unfortunately, seniors won’t be getting a raise. However, there is some good news about Canada’s public pension system, especially for low-income seniors who have employment or self-employment earnings, and for tens of thousands of seniors who haven’t been getting their CPP benefits.

Although taxpayers have been provided with tax rebates to offset the new carbon pricing system that rolled out in four Canadian provinces on April 1, small to medium-sized businesses are facing new costs, and remain in the dark about how the government intends to help them.

Is it as difficult for you to envision life after retirement as it is to save for it? According to Knowledge Bureau’s March poll results, the vast majority thinks so: 68% of respondents said yes. But this thought-provoking question helped to define what a retiree’s role really is in a future society that has more old people than young and what this means to the way retirement planning is approached.