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. 

The 100th anniversary of personal income tax is coming up on September 20! On that day in 1917, The Income War Tax Act received Royal Assent, heralding in the first personal income taxes in Canada. Perhaps it’s high time you tackled the challenge and mastered the tax return and all it’s nuances? It’s an investment that could really pay off for you.

Karen Stokowski, a tax professional in Holden, Alta., has this to say about the Distinguished Advisor Conference

Accountants, bookkeepers, financial advisors and business leaders are joining the chorus of dissent against Ottawa’s proposed tax changes affecting private corporations, warning of dire consequences to the Canadian economy if implemented, a Knowledge Bureau survey finds.

We received dozens of thoughtful, well-crafted comments to our August poll on the proposals to tax passive investment income inside a small business corporation at top personal rates. But this “Letter to the Government” submitted by Brad is a must-read.

Did you know that dentistry, pharmacy, medicine and law are the professions with the highest undergraduate tuition fees in Canada, ranging from $10,000 to $18,000 per year? The average tuition fee for all faculties is just under $6,000 a year. With this in mind, most families could find it challenging to fund their family’s lifelong educational needs. The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) can help.

About 32 per cent of workers are starting their own businesses on the side for a variety of reasons — including 25 per cent of those who earn more than $75,000 and 19 per cent of those with income over $100,000. For tax purposes, it’s critical to know the difference between someone who is employed and someone who is considered self-employed.