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:

The GST holiday which  began in December comes to an end on February 15th and the fallout for consumers and businesses could linger for longer than the two month exemption itself.  Announced by the Prime Minister and then Finance Minister on November 21st, the end of the break will mean Canadians must once again pay more for common children’s items in particular.  Further, businesses will gain incur costs to reprogram point-of-sales and accounting systems. 

Canadian homeowners may not yet have caught up with the new rules around anti-flipping when they buy and sell their principal residences.  CRA has not only tightened the reporting rules, but now can deny the tax exempt treatment if the personal residence is not held for 365 consecutive days.  Some exceptions do apply.  So let’s take a look at the rules that should be discussed with all home owners and potential home owners:

Real Wealth Management is the accumulation, growth, preservation and transition of wealth after taxation, inflation and fees.  Seldom has an economic environment been more conducive to this approach with the threat of tariffs, significant tax change and numerous interest/inflation fluctuations.    Fortunately, tax season, which official begins for filing of T1s on February 24, can provide some cash flow relief.  Here are some things to consider.

Diane Colton, Business Services Specialist, FDFS™, Knowledge Bureau VIP graduate, designate, esteemed Fellow of Distinguished Financial Services and owner of Mobility Tax has been selected to receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

The Recorded Sessions of this High Value Webinar are now available featuring in depth instruction from tax experts Evelyn Jacks, Kim Moody and Ruth Horst.  Don’t miss this important opportunity to decipher the Capital Gains chaos for your clients, family and community. File T1 returns with the new Schedule 3 with confidence – train rooking staff members, too. Plus, there’s still time to enrol in our upcoming CE Savvy™ Mini Summit live-virtual events. On February 19 we will focus on Families and Their Real Estate and on February 26 Small Business Returns.

Join Evelyn Jacks and special guests for a weekly podcast delivering real tax news people need to know.  It’s been quite the journey for taxpayers who own assets like cottages and businesses.  In this first episode of Real Tax News: “Capital Gains Chaos Gets a Reprieve” featuring Geoff Currier, find out the latest PLUS the Definition of True Wealth.