Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

The Canadian Income Survey for 2013 was released by Statistics Canada on July 8.  While things are virtually unchanged from 2012, some interesting facts emerge about the income levels earned by Canadian families.

With real estate prices soaring in the US and the Canadian dollar falling in value against the greenback, Canadians who invested in a vacation property in the US may be tempted to sell their US cottage and purchase a Canadian cottage instead. 

The technical side of payroll, if done incorrectly, can cost the employer or the employee money, not to mention incurring penalties with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The Underground Economy (UE) is a significant global problem that causes economic erosion for all participants in the financial eco-system. However, it also presents an opportunity for professional tax and financial advisors to rise to the occasion in educating their clients on the issue.

Look for Catherine Bell under the big sombrero. The featured guest speaker at this year’s Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC)  and author of the bestselling book, Empower Your Presence, is an expert on workplace protocol, etiquette, and professional image management, who understands the complexities of doing business in today’s competitive marketplace.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? Don’t know? Well, Knowledge Bureau has set dates for our fall and winter workshops as well as summer and fall online training dates.