A Challenge for New Clients: How to Choose a Trusted Advisor

If you’re in business for yourself, you have a unique opportunity to build wealth in an asset class that others don’t have: equity in a business enterprise that some day may be sold for millions of dollars. In addition, that business can spin off income for family members that can provide significant tax advantages, done well. Understanding how to realize on this asset requires the help of a trusted financial advisory team. Who should be on that team and how do you find them? This is a challenge your next new business clients may wrestle with. Here are some tips on how you can open discussions to help them:

Drawing up inter-spousal investment loans are a legitimate way for the higher-income spouse to transfer taxable investment income to their lower-income spouse to reduce the family tax bill. For several years now, the prescribed rate for spousal loans has been set at 1% but that may be changing shortly.

On September 13, the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, confirmed reports that the Canada GEN Investment Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation, sold 30 million common stock General Motors (GM) shares to BofA Merill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets in an unregistered block trade. 

Canadian full-time students in undergraduate programs paid 3.3% more on average in tuition fees for the 2013/2014 academic year this fall than they did a year earlier.

It’s expensive to get an education, so investing in careers that “count” both financially and for your lifestyle in the future is important.

The Tax Court of Canada (TCC) recently considered whether a graduate student performing research at the University of British Columbia was an employee for the purposes of subsection 5(1) of the Employment Insurance Act.

Finding a tax advisor to take your family into a tax-efficient future is important.