Helping First Nations, Inuit and Metis with Tax Filing

The Canada Revenue Agency is trying to reach out to Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis to encourage them to file their tax forms on time and could use your help to make sure these communities get all the tax benefits they are entitled to. But filing tax returns are not always easy, especially when there is income on and off the reserve.

  When it comes to eroding your capital, there is no match for the expensive penalties you pay for failing to file your annual income tax return. But, on the bright side, if you file overdue returns before the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) comes after you, you can avoid the big penalties. So, if you are delinquent, file your returns now ó and save money. The CRA has been proactively slapping penalties on delinquents of $1,000 for each missed return, be it personal, corporate or GST. A real estate agent in Ontario paid $2,000 for failing to file her 2007 and 2008 personal tax returns and ignoring CRA demand notices. A British Columbia couple was fined $12,000 for failing to file 2006 and 2007 personal returns; four tax returns for their numbered company, five corporate tax returns and a GST return for one year. A New Brunswick man was fined $8,000 for failing to file his 2008 and 2009 personal tax returns and several GST returns and failing to comply with a court order. Unfortunately, the tax pain won't end there if you have a balance due. The taxes will need to be paid along with hefty late filing penalties: First failure to file a return on time: 5% of the unpaid taxes owing plus 1% a month up to a maximum of 12 months from the filing due date; Subsequent failure to file on time within a three-year period: 10% of unpaid taxes plus 2% a month to a maximum of 20 months from filing due date. If you try to pull any tricks when filing those late returns, the penalties get bigger: Gross negligence penalties of 50% of taxes payable, minimum penalty of $100, if you knowingly or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence make a false statement or omission; Tax evasion penalties of up to 200% of taxes payable if the CRA can prove you intentionally cheated by understanding income or overstating deductions or credits. Jail time is a possibly, too. Interest, too, will compound daily at the prescribed rate, plus 4% on all the combined amounts due. And take note: even if you have a June 15 filing deadline for your unincorporated business, interest is due on balances as the interest clock starts ticking as of the April 30 deadline. It's Your Money. Your Life. Up-to-date tax preparation is the mandatory first step in your wealth-management plan. Avoid big penalties and minimize interest charges by filing your late returns now. Doing so before the CRA comes after you will preserve your wealth. Evelyn Jacks is president of Knowledge Bureau and has authored several of its tax courses and books.   Additional Educational Resource: DAW Audit Defence Workshops and Advanced Tax Preparation and Research course.  

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency have teamed up to offer a convenient and secure way for Manitobans to apply for child benefit programs for their newborns. RC4476-MB or "Birth Registration and Canada Child Benefitsî explains the new program. After the mother ó who must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of the child ó registers the child's birth with the province of Manitoba and gives her consent, the Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency will send the registration information over a secure communication network to the CRA. There is no need for separate communication with the CRA. The CRA will then determine eligibility for benefits, including the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the Universal Child Care Benefit, the GST/HST credit and any related provincial/territorial programs that the CRA administers. To register, you must: complete and sign the registration-of-birth form; consent to the Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency sharing your information with the CRA; provide your social insurance number. For more information, download RC4476-MB on the CRA website. The CRA also recently released various forms related to reporting GST: ï GST20 Election for GST/HST Reporting Period  provides the necessary form and explains how to change your GST reporting period. ï GST20-1 similarly provides the form for a listed financial institution to change its GST reporting period. ï Excise and GST/HST News, No. 84 brings together in one document all the measures related to GST/HST and excise tax proposed in the March 29 federal budget.   Additional Educational Resources: The Smart, Savvy Young Consumer,  One Financial Habit That Could Change Your Life and Introduction to Personal Tax Preparation Services.  

April employment numbers heralded a second month of strong gains in employment, fuelling optimism about Canada's economic strength. The only ones unlikely to celebrate are the under-25s. According to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, the youth unemployment rate remained at 13.9% in April, little changed since July 2009. April saw employment increase by 58,000 jobs, following an 82,000 increase in March. Compared with a year ago, says StatsCan, employment was up 1.2% or 214,000 positions. Derek Burleton, deputy chief economist at TD Bank Group, puts it another way: "Over the past six months, net job creation ó a good indicator of the underlying trend ó is now running at around 26,000 a month. Job growth since 2002 has averaged about 20,000 a month.î Even better news is the quality of the jobs created. Full-time employment enjoyed the biggest gains in April ó more than 44,000 positions. All of the growth over the past 12 months, adds StatsCan, was in full-time work, up 217,000 positions or 1.6%, while part-time employment was unchanged. The greatest strength was in the goods sector, with increases in construction, manufacturing, natural resources and agriculture. It is the public sector that registered losses, which is not surprising given that governments, federal and provincial, have vowed to reduce public sector spending and trim their deficits. Services hiring was down 12,000 positions, led by a 32,000-drop in public administration positions, notes CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld. "The tilt toward full-time and private sector workî adds Shenfeld, "is further reassurance that after a long slumber, the Canadian economy is waking up.î But it is not all coming up roses. The jobless rate did creep upward to 7.3% in April, put down to unemployed workers, encouraged by recent gains, returning to the labour market. The participation rate moved to 66.7%, marginally higher than March's 66.6%. Despite gains in the 25-plus category, Burleton notes that the share of adult Canadians with jobs continues to sit more than a full percentage point below its 10-year average of about 63%. Geographically, employment increased in Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. There was little change in the other three provinces, says StatsCan. Perhaps of more interest is comparison to the U.S. When adjusted to U.S. concepts, Canada's employment rate was 62.6% vs. 58.4% in the U.S. ó a 4.2-percentage-point difference. Until 2002, says StatsCan, Canada's employment rate was "markedlyî lower than that of the U.S.: "Since 2002, the adjusted employment rate in Canada has been higher, with the gap between the two countries widening since late 2006.î Additional Educational Resources: Financial Recovery in a Fragile World and Tax Strategies for Financial Advisors.    

It appears Canadians are heeding the warnings about high household debt and are taking a more prudent approach to spending. For the year ending Feb. 29, growth in consumer credit slowed to its lowest rate since 2002, likewise slowing the accumulation of household debt. Perhaps, it is the threat of higher interest rates as early as this fall (Knowledge Bureau Report, April 25); maybe it is a response to Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney's repeated musings, but Canadians are "hunkering down,î in the words of TD Bank Group economist Francis Fong. Consumer credit ó which includes unsecured lines of credit, home equity lines of lines, personal loans and credit cards ó grew by 2.3% year over year. Consumer credit outstanding actually declined in March, CIBC economist Benjamin Tal reports in Household Credit Analysis. As well, growth in lines of credit has steadily declined over the past three years, coming in at 5% increase this year vs. a 21% increase three years ago. The amount of credit card lending has actually declined by 6.6%. "The moderation in debt accumulation,î Fong notes, in a report entitled Are Canadians Prepared for Higher Interest Rates?, "speaks to a more cautious approach to consumer spending. Indeed, retail sales growth has decelerated in lockstep, with the slowdown being felt mostly in non-discretionary areas.î Canadian households are continuing to spend, he adds, "but an increasing number simply do not hold a balance on their cards.î The one source of credit that has stayed constant for the past three years is residential mortgage credit. It has grown at a rate of 7% to 8% a year and there is no indication of that changing. Both Fong and Tal point to "substitutionî in which credit card and other forms of debt are replaced by lower-priced mortgage debt. But there is also a robust housing market ó the average price of an existing house has grown by about 30% in the past three-plus year, says Fong ó keeping mortgage credit growing at a brisk pace. If housing prices gradually soften by about 10% over the next two year, as Tal suggests, the growth in mortgage credit will likewise soften. So, will Canadians be in a better position to handle higher interest rates when they come? It appears so. Some households will fare better than others, of course. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals suggests 21% of current mortgage holders ó or 1.2 million mortgages ó may face financial difficulty. The Bank of Canada's analysis suggests normalized rate could affect 7.5% of households. But Fong is not unduly concerned. "While excessive debt levels remain the economy's largest domestic medium-term threat,î he concludes, "a combination of slowing credit accumulation, gradual increase in interest rates and efforts to lock-in at still-low fixed rates will help to ease the adjustment on households.î   Additional Educational Resource: Debt and Cash Flow Management Course.  

As of April 30, the deadline for filing your taxes, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had already processed 17 million tax returns. And for the 66% of those filers who got money back, the average refund was $1,570. If you are on the receiving end, you want to be sure to put your refund to work for you. Consider the following six strategies for spinning your refund into gold: Put it into a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). Withdrawals from a TSFA are tax-free ó meaning investment returns can accumulate inside your TFSA without generating taxes ó making a TFSA tomorrow's tax-free pension. So, do maximize this opportunity. Put it into an RRSP. It's the next best thing to a TFSA, if you have contribution room. It will not only increase your tax refund next year, but it will also add to your tax-sheltered savings and, in some cases, increase social benefits such as the Child Tax Credit. Given that the median annual RRSP contribution is about $2,800, Canadians can increase total sheltered retirement savings by 56% just by contributing the average refund. Pay down non-deductible debt. Debt that is not business- or investment-related ó and, therefore, tax deductible ó such as credit card debt, home mortgages and lines of credit erode your potential for savings. You can't effectively optimize saving room if you are paying down debt, particularly debt bearing high interest rates. Shore up risk management. Every family should be able to go six months without earning income, in case of job loss, illness or caregiving responsibilities. How have you managed your risk? Do you have an emergency fund or insurance? Your tax refund can help. Reduce your withholding taxes at source. Next year, reduce that tax refund. Instead of loaning money to the government interest-free, it could be funding your future. You are obligated to pay only the correct amount of taxes ó no more. So, review the amount of taxes withheld from your pay cheque. Reducing the deduction at source allows you, rather than the government, to maximize the time value of money. See a professional advisor. If you expect a major life event ó such as a marriage or a divorce, a birth or a death ó professional help can be a good use of at least some of that refund. It's Your Money. Your Life. Remember, Canadians under the age of 54 will now wait two additional years, until age 67, to receive their $6,500 annually in Old Age Security. By taking control of your tax refund and investing it tax-efficiently, you are taking a giant step toward financial freedom: $1,570 invested each year for 11 years (age 54 to 65) amounts to slightly more than $17,000 ó which means you can retire at 65 after all! Evelyn Jacks is president of Knowledge Bureau and author of Essential Tax Facts 2012 and co-author of Financial Recovery in a Fragile World with Al Emid and Robert Ironside. Follow her on twitter @evelynjacks.    Additional Educational Resources: Take Home Pay Calculator  

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is always updating its website and two recent additions are worth noting ó the form, RC354 Election for Transitional Relief by a Participant Taxpayer of a Joint Venture and the 7-page GST/HST Policy Statement re the treatment of gift certificates. Prior to March 22, 2011, in certain cases the CRA allowed a joint venture to establish a fiscal period different from the tax year of participants. That is no longer the case. For tax years ending after March 22, 2011, each participant taxpayer ó be it individuals or trusts ó must calculate the income from a joint venture according to the taxpayer's tax year. That means this year the income earned from the end of the joint venture's fiscal period to the end of the Dec. 31, 2011, tax year ó the "stub period incomeî ó has to be reported on your 2011 return. But you can request transitional relief, hence the RC354. Complete this form and the CRA will allow you to exclude the stub period income from your 2011 income. Instead you can report it over the following five years. GST/HST Policy Statement, gift certificates, or P-202, delineates when taxes become payable for gift certificates, with a large focus on defining the characteristics of a valid gift certificate under Section 181.2 of the Excise Tax Act. Various examples are provided. The CRA considers a gift certificate to have all of the following attributes: It has a monetary exchange value that is evident on the certificate or that is easily determined by the parties involved. Note: Certificates or gift cards that can be "topped-upî still fit in this category. It is issued or sold for use at a particular supplier, whether by that supplier or a third party. The amount paid may not necessarily be the same as the monetary exchange value. It is accepted as a form of payment for a good or service at that supplier. The bearer of the certificate is not required to do anything other than present the certificate for payment, as if it were cash. The certificate should not have value other than its monetary exchange value. P-202 gives the example of a company issuing "goldî certificates that are either redeemable for some good or service or frameable as a collector's piece as celebration of 50 years in business. As a result of the intrinsic value of the piece, the certificate would not be held to be a valid gift certificate under s. 182.1 of the ETA. If these conditions are met, then the sale of a gift certificate is deemed not to be supplies for GST/HST purposes and there is no GST/HST payable. When presented at the retailer, the certificates are deemed to be money for GST/HST purposes. At this stage, if applicable, the GST/HST will be payable on the value of the whole supply. Greer Jacks is updating jurisprudence in the EverGreen Explanatory Notes, an online research library of assistance to tax and financial professionals in working with their clients.   Additional Educational Resource: DFA-Bookkeeping Services Specialistô