Red Ink on the Prairies

A day after Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard brought down a Budget featuring a $6.3 Billion deficit, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled his government’s budget on March 19. Next up was Finance Minister Adrian Salas, who tabled the Manitoba Budget on March 24. The common thread: there’s lots of red ink on the Prairies. But that’s where the budget documents differ between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s the latest tax news and why it matters to the advice you give your clients.

Who pays higher marginal tax rates: the executive earning $250,000, or the family that makes do on $60,000? If you said the family, you would be correct. That’s because marginal tax rates are higher in income brackets that are impacted by the clawback of social benefits and tax credits. But when does that happen?

In gratitude for your continued support, please accept our very best wishes for the holiday season. May it be restful, joyful and peaceful; and may your new year be blessed with good health and prosperity.

Do you know how to prepare a T2 corporate return for your small business clients?  Knowledge Bureau’s T2 Corporate Tax Preparation for Micro Businesses course is an excellent solution for financial advisors who want deep practical knowledge on small business tax issues.

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." C. S. Lewis

The annual TFSA contribution room is indexed to the consumer price index (CPI), but the contribution limit is increased only in increments of $500.

Indexation has increased the capital gains exemption available on the sale of qualified small business shares in 2017 by an additional $11,540, to $835,716. The capital gains exemption on the sale of qualified farm or fishing property remains at $1,000,000.