Podcast: Automatic Tax Filing - Will It Work?

Last week Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau  tabled his annual report:  In Pursuit of Better Service: Taxpayers Deserve More.  once again, it was nothing short of scathing, as CRA received its highest number of complaints in the last three years.  Calling our “completely nuts” Income Tax Act a potential barrier, he is nonetheless pushing for automatic tax filing as a potential solution.  A new episode of Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks & Friends available next week, will feature guest Gillian Petit, Ph.D. - author of a great report, Welcome News for Lower-Income Canadians, but There’s More to Do - which takes a deeper dive.  Consider the following:

If you’ve lived in a prescribed northern or intermediate zone for a period of at least six consecutive months beginning or ending in the tax year, you may be able to claim the Northern Residents Deduction on Line 255.  Not sure if you qualify? 

Alan Rowell, MFA, DFA-Tax Services Specialist, shines a light on a new communications issue at CRA...how would you advise a client with this problem?

Our Disability Awareness series concludes this week with a look at non-refundable tax credits that can be claimed on the tax return. These articles are excerpted from Jacks on Tax, by Evelyn Jacks.

The disabled who incur expenses of an attendant or other disability supports purchased in order to earn employment or self-employment income or to pursue education, can claim the costs of Disability Supports on Line 215 so long as the expenses were not reimbursed.

Congratulations to David Christianson, Vice-President of National Bank Financial Wealth Management, on achieving his recent distinction as Fellow of FPSC.

Knowledge Bureau will be closed August 1 to August 5 for summer holidays. Online course registration will be available throughout this time. Be sure to register by July 31 to begin your second Summer School session August 6.