Finance Canada: No More Spring Budgets

Finance Canada announced on October 7 that Canada’s federal budgets will be brought down in the fall starting with the November 4, 2025 event; a significant departure from the spring schedule (February, March or April) that has been the cycle for several decades. This is going to affect many other events as we know them, and in the annual government spending approval cycle. There will also be a new budget process for capital vs. operational expenses. Here’s what you need to know:

OAS rates are indexed quarterly based on changes to the Consumer Price Index.  Seniors, who have not seen a raise since January 1, will receive an additional $2.85 per month starting in July.  The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) also increased by the same percentage.

Did you know that as of May 16, 2016, like individuals, corporations can now file Form T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement, electronically?  EFILE has otherwise been allowed for the 2014 and subsequent taxation years for individuals. CRA will also make electronic filing possible for partnerships in the future, but they haven’t released a date yet.

Knowledge Bureau and Manulife are pleased to announce that Lindsay Sawyer Fay of E. Sawyer Financial in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Darren Ryan, a financial advisor with Ryco Financial in St. John’s, Newfoundland have been selected as the 2016 winners of The DAC Young Advisors Award.

More market volatility is certain in the aftermath of Brexit and in anticipation of the outcome of the US election.   If you really want to help people reach their financial goals, and avoid “bad behavior” because of volatility in the markets, you need to have a broader and more powerful set of tools.

As a result of recent corporate tax rate changes and adjustments to the taxation of dividends, one of the key issues faced by the owner/manager of a private business is how to best manage his or her compensation to maximize the amount of after-tax income available to the family.

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." Desmond Tutu