New Mega Deduction a Good Start, But More Tax Reforms Are Needed

The Federal government has unveiled a Productivity Mega Deduction, which will provide immediate expensing under Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) provisions for a broad range of depreciable property, importantly on a permanent basis, for acquisitions on or after September 15, 2026. Check out the noteworthy exclusions are listed below. This tax reform is a good start, but much more needs to be done, especially for small business owners and average taxpayers to make Canada truly competitive across our tax base.

CRA has just issued a revision to Form T1198 Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payments, which is completed by the payer of qualifying amounts.  

Residents of Canada must file tax returns to report world income in Canadian funds. That means taxpayers will need to gather documentation to report offshore earnings — and new for 2013, more specific information about income earned by offshore assets with a cost of $100,000 or more.

Retirement planning may begin for you–quite unexpectedly–with the receipt of a retiring allowance or severance package from your employer.  

Year-end is charitable giving time, but remembering to verify the tax status of any organization that you intend to donate a considerable sum to is very important as not all benevolent oriented organizations will allow a tax credit under the Income Tax Act. Last month, a hopeless appeal was lost in the Tax Court of Canada, for example.  

If a surviving spouse or common-law partner is designated as a successor holder of the TFSA either in the TFSA contract or in the deceased taxpayer’s will, the successor becomes the owner of the TFSA.

With the Senate scandal dominating the news, the issue of what is a principal residence for tax purposes seems an appropriate question.