Fall Federal Budget: Will Spending Be Cut?

Canada has historically presented an annual budget since Confederation in 1867, even through periods like World Wars and the Great Depression, but we have recently experienced the longest period without a full federal budget in our history. By the time the next one is brought down, expected in October 2025, it will have been 18 months since the controversial April 2024 budget which introduced the doomed capital gains inclusion rate hikes. What can we expect?

Year end tax planning includes upgrading tax office environments to substantially increase efficiencies. The proof appears to be in the pudding: TaxCycle users  are reporting a 41% decrease in paper printing and handling, 30% more accurate tax preparation and 21% time savings per client engagement.

How do advisors successfully engage multiple generations in a digital world in order to build and sustain family wealth?

It’s an important cross-over: for the first time, Canada’s 65-year-olds have outnumbered children ages 0 to 14.

The first transfer of Canadian banking information to the Internal Revenue Service was completed September 30, as reported last week.  That was the result of a September 16 appeal in which The Honourable Mr. Justice Martineau of the Canadian Federal Court in Vancouver ruled that the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation is both legal under Canadian law and not inconsistent with the U.S./Canada Tax Treaty.

An argument that is mathematically possible will not avail a taxpayer who is found by the Court not to be credible.  That was the unfortunate result for a taxpayer who took on CRA in a case of unreported income.

Last week we discussed reasons why an increased TFSA contribution limit is very helpful in building wealth for seniors. But the TFSA is an even more powerful tool for millennials, who should maximize their contribution room to build a tax-free retirement surplus that is potentially increased by the longer compounding time afforded to the young.