Tax Avoidance, Financial Stress & Well Being

Earlier this month, Statistics Canada published a report titled Stretching the Loonie: a time series analysis of financial difficulty and quality of life. The report is based on a nation-wide survey and the results are concerning. They reveal a serious trend and it is possible this is contributing to the late filing trend we are seeing this tax season.

It’s been a couple of months since we last ran our trivia contest for a chance to win attendance at the upcoming Distinguished Advisor Conference in Kelowna on November 5-8. So here is the question for August:

Back in June, we told you that our popular Distinguished Advisor Workshops (DAW) were being renamed to CE Summits to bring you even more expert ideas. In case you missed it, here's everything you need to know:

When commenting about the “Understanding Family Dynamics” course, David Bwamiki from Primerica said: “My objectives were met because the course presented real-life examples that I often encounter.”

A Special Knowledge Bureau Report: Buried at the height of summer holidays, the Finance Department has released a significantly complex and potentially punitive proposal to change the integration of the personal and corporate taxation system for private enterprises and provided a mere 75 days to provide feedback. 

The proposed changes to the taxation of private business income and equity, released on July 18, 2017, will affect the income paid to family members who are not actively engaged in the business, as well as limit their access to the Capital Gains Exemption.

The Finance Department is proposing alternatives to the taxation of passive income earned in a private corporation. This will dramatically alter after-tax income results, essentially taxing the income earned by corporate investing at the top marginal rates and then taxing distributions once more at personal tax rates.