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:

March is fraud prevention month, and therefore it makes sense – in the heart of the tax filing season – to know which is legal and which is a criminal offence: tax evasion or tax avoidance?

You haven't done your taxes for a year or two or more – yikes – now what? Bottom line: get on it, quickly, and more important, start a relationship with a qualified tax professional who has taken a recent audit defense course. 

Roller Hire v The Queen (2013). A common battle in the Tax Court of Canada is one between the designation of employee or independent contractor. The case of Roller Hire is a recent example, and Judge Hogan made some interesting comments for the Court.

Recent RRSP & TFSA savings statistics show that only 26% of eligible taxfilers contributed to an RRSP in 2010, but this dropped to 24%  in 2011.

Is it true if you have a balance owing to CRA and you do not want to pay on-line you need to call CRA for a pre-printed form?

The Atlantic Investment Tax Credit provides a 10% refundable tax credits for certain investments in new buildings, machinery and equipment used in the Atlantic region and the Gaspé Peninsula, in farming, fishing, logging, manufacturing and processing, oil & gas, and mining industries.