Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

According to Statistics Canada there were 2.3 million businesses in Canada as of June 2009, with 57% of all business establishments located in Ontario and Quebec. 

Since 1988, 1,125 files have been referred to the GAAR Committee, according to recent statistics from CRA; CRA presented this and other statistics as it went through the GAAR process at the CRA & Professionals Breakfast Seminar in Toronto on June 6. 

South of the border, our American friends have proposed new legislation aimed at imposing sales tax on customers shopping at large online retail websites.

With very minor exceptions, the definition of “income” used to determine the amount of the Guaranteed Income Supplement is the same as “Net Income” under the Income Tax Act. 

We continue our Synthetic Dispositions series this week with a look at a total return swap.

Are you ready to grow your business?  According to Statistics Canada[1],  the top three reasons businesses fail is lack of vision, lack of knowledge, and the inability to use outside advisors effectively.