Claiming Medical Expenses: Free Healthcare?

Free Health Care? Did you know that Canadians spend on average more than $1,000 on medical expenses each year? It’s estimated that government programs, via our taxes, cover about 72% of medical expenses, which means that we pay for the rest. Your clients may be over-paying on their taxes because they don’t know about medical expense deductions. 

The Distinguished Advisor Conference To Provide "The Best New Thinking"For Leading Financial Advisors and Accountants Explosive headlines about financial crisis, bank failures, fraud and theft have dominated the media recently, but with the release of the final curriculum for a leading strategic educational conference for top advisors in financial services, worried investors can rest assured that there are many professionals willing to invest in themselves to help their clients better manage and grow their wealth. The Knowledge Bureau, Canada's leading educator of financial professionals, will host the 6th Annual Distinguished Advisor Conference, November 8 to 11 in Tucson, Arizona. The theme of the conference is Leadership and Opportunity in Turbulent Times. More than 100 of Canada's top advisors in the accounting and financial services will meet in Arizona for four days with one objective in mind ó to better steward clients' wealth with technical readiness and proactive, empathetic leadership in unpredictable times. "In the last year and a half, our financial world has changed dramatically," says Evelyn Jacks, President of the Knowledge Bureau. "Today's top professional advisors know that now, more than ever, they need to invest in themselves by taking advantage of the most current thinking available on today's critical path to financial recovery, in order to advise their clients effectively. And, with our good financial fundamentals, it is entirely appropriate that a Canadian delegation should lead through an advanced educational solution." That's where the Distinguished Advisor Conference plays an important role. Delegates who attend will benefit from a superior strategic educational experience featuring 18 leading speakers on the timeliest topics - both technical and relational - over three days of sessions. They will have the opportunity to participate in vibrant discussions addressing all aspects of client service and be challenged to consider: innovative approaches to better understanding clients and their needs in today's economic climate critically important economic insights leading to new investment strategies the foreign real estate their retiring clients may be investing in, and the impact of currency and the recent crisis in the US real estate marketplace on those decisions how to grow and manage "family offices" to better serve affluent clients the role of tax efficient philanthropy in planning succession business transition and its effects on new and existing business owners and their families. In addition, sessions on how to be a more communicative and empathetic advisor will be presented alongside a special session dedicated to recent changes to regulation and compliance guidelines. Rounding out the conference will be new marketing and business development ideas for today's new team-based advisor and their busy clients. A complete list of dynamic topics and speakers can be found at knowledgebureau.com/dac, together with a registration package. "Financial advisors will be engaged and challenged to think about the future at the Distinguished Advisor Conference," says Jacks. "It's an intimate and fast-paced think tank for top performers to share their knowledge and insights, interact with cutting edge experts and take their service levels to new heights." Delegates interested in the Distinguished Advisor Conference, who have not yet registered may do so by contacting the Knowledge Bureau toll free at 1-866-953-4769. About The Knowledge Bureau As Canada's leading financial educational institution and publisher, The Knowledge Bureau takes a proactive approach to training the 21st century advisor practicing in the tax and financial services. By providing continuing professional development from the perspective of Real Wealth Management!" , The Knowledge Bureau is pioneering a new approach to the decisions advisors and their clients make about managing their money. For more information, please visit knowledgebureau.com. To arrange to speak with Evelyn Jacks, arrange for a media pass or for further information, please contact Kerry Breeze at 416-829-1727 or by email at kbreeze@mediastrategy.ca.

Significantly, commission for mutual fund and brokerage services have grown By Evelyn Jacks, President, The Knowledge Bureau Exactly how is Canada doing in relation to the global financial recovery? Quite well it appears, according to end of August numbers from Statistics Canada,the end of second quarter reports from Finance Canada and the Department of Finance's September 10th new release. It appears that even investors felt better going into the summer hiatus. Overall, consumer spending on goods and services increased in the second quarter of 2009 and, to the relief of investment advisors, there was a noted increase in spending on mutual funds and on stock and bond commissions, which has contributed to Canada's overall positive growth in services. Following are details of some of the economic outputs and forecasts on the table for the rest of 2009 and 2010, as a result of those statistics. The message is strong: we're on the road to recovery, but with a caveat: as a trading nation, we need to continue to work with the G20 economies to strengthen our collective position in the global economy; and for us, particularly important is the ability for the US, our largest trading partner, to recover. THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAD SOME POSITIVES Canadian corporations earned $50.2 billion in operating profits in the second quarter of 2009, down 6.4% from the previous quarter. But this compared quite favorably against declines of 14.1% in the first quarter of 2009 and 19.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008.[1] But, what's even more exciting is that Canada's real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.1% in June. This is the first monthly increase since July 2008. For the second quarter as a whole, real GDP decreased 0.9%, which represents a smaller decline than the 1.6% drop in the previous quarter. Also, final domestic demand increased slightly--0.1%--in the second quarter. [2] How will all of this affect your clients who want to accumulate, growth, preserve and transition more wealth? There are some challenges, as you will see in next week's report; however, it also takes leadership and an understanding of the decision-making role between advisors and clients. Do you have those leadership and technical skills? Would you like to improve them? If so you should be participating in The Distinguished Advisor Conference. This year's theme: Leadership and Opportunity in Turbulent Times. Click here To Register today. CONSUMERS STILL KINGSóBUT FACE THE LOSS OF PURCHASING POWER How did individuals fare? Well, we relied more heavily on credit, but it wasn't necessarily all ìbadî debt. In the second quarter of 2009, we borrowed to buy consumer goods and invest in mortgages, but while we did that, interest rates were reduced from 7.8% to 7.7% to cushion the blow. Specifically, consumer credit increased by 19% while net new mortgage borrowings were up in excess of 30%. According to Stats Canada, both figures are well off the pace of borrowing set prior to the economic downturn. Second, the substantial increase in mortgage borrowing was related to increased activity in the resale housing markets, which was vibrant in the context of historically low borrowing costs. Investment housing has increased 1.7% in the second quarter, and this trend reversed five consecutive quarterly declines. Ownership transfer costs related to housing resale activity rebounded by 40%. While we saw a decline in the value of new housing construction, renovation activity was also up (+2.2%) after weakening throughout most of 2008. It appears the federal government's introduction of the Home Renovation Tax Credit may be having some effect after all. Want to Learn More? Link here to the Knowledge Bureau's newly updated tax courses or check out Breaking Tax and Investment News Archives.   And, as stated in The Wealth of Canadians: An Overview of the Survey of Financial Security 2005 by Pensions and Wealth Surveys Section of Statistics Canada, the single most important asset for Canadians is the principal residence, contributing significantly to overall personal net worth. It will be interesting to see how significantly these activities will contribute to personal net worth over the long run. So while the Canadian housing market remains sound, what's important is that this is fundamentally different to what is happening in the United States. Canada's housing market growth was not created by the aggressive marketing of high-risk, sub-prime mortgage products which led the US growth, price increases and subsequent consumer credit crash. Even though in Canada overall we saw pre-summer declines in housing starts and modest declines in average house prices for resale homes, this happened primarily in Western Canada, where prices had increased sharply, and perhaps unsustainably in recent years. The result? The net worth of Canadian households has fallen by far less than in the U.S., which will help support consumer activity and therefore our economic recovery going forward. [3]   Further, it appears the consumer credit upswing reflected sizeable increases in car sales, very good for the manufacturing sector which has suffered significantly in the financial crisis. Buyers apparently were enticed by favourable dealer incentives to buy new cars. Other emerging indicators from the end of second quarter [4] are more disturbing, however. RED FLAGS FOR SAVERS Unfortunately, the national saving rate was 4.4%, its lowest rate since 1994. Both personal and corporate saving rose slightly in the second quarter. However, purchasing power declined as the real gross domestic income (GDI), a measure of Canada's purchasing power, fell 0.5% in the second quarter. Real GDI was down 8.2% from the second quarter of 2008. Further, the price of goods and services produced in Canada increased 0.3%, after declines in the two previous quarters. Therefore, while consumer spending is helping us out of our current fiscal crisis, savings rates need to increase to hedge against anticipated decreases in purchasing power from price increases and potentially increased taxes in the future, needed to cover budget deficits and the costs of serving an aging demographic. The introduction of the Tax Free Savings Account in January 2009, should go a long way for average Canadians to start making up some of that anticipated shortfall. Therefore it appears that recent federal budget announcements have hit the mark in stimulating the savings rates. So what comes next for Canadian taxpayers? Next time: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENTS AND BUDGETS Evelyn Jacks is President of The Knowledge Bureau and author of over 40 books on the subject of personal taxation, finance and Real Wealth Managementô. She has recently been appointed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to the Task Force on Financial Literacy.   Give us your opinion: Participate in the Breaking Tax and Investment News Poll [1] The Daily, Statistics Canada, Quarterly Financial Statistics for Enterprises, August 26, 2009 [2] The Daily, Statistics Canada, Canadian Economic Accounts, August 31, 2009 [3] Canada's Economic Action Plan A Second Report To Canadians June 2009, Department of Finance, Canada [4] Canadian Economic Accounts, August 31, 2009, Stats Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency announced the prescribed annual interest rates that will apply to any amounts owed to the CRA and to any amounts the CRA owes to individuals and corporations. These rates are calculated quarterly in accordance with applicable legislation and will be in effect from October 1, 2009, to December 31, 2009 and are unchanged from the last two quarters. Income tax The interest rate charged on overdue taxes, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance Premiums will be 5%. The interest rate paid on overpayments will be 3%. The interest rate used to calculate taxable benefits for employees and shareholders from interest-free and low-interest loans will be 1%. Other taxes The interest rate on overdue and overpaid remittances for the following taxes will be: Tax and Duty Overdue remittances Overpaid remittances GST 5% 3% HST 5% 3% Air Travellers Security Charge 5% 3% Excise Tax (non GST) 5% 3% Excise Duty (except Brewer Licensees) 5% 3% Excise Duty (Brewer Licensees) 3% N/A Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge 5% 3%   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com🏢office" />  Educational Resource: For more information on tax planning provisions and compliance requirements subscribe to The Knowledge Bureau's online tax reference for taxpayers, financial advisors and their clients: EverGreen Explanatory Notes.  

To the employment picture, things are looking up, according to Statistics Canada. In August, employment increased by 27,000, led by part-time work and among private sector employees. The unemployment rate edged up 0.1percentage points to 8.7% as more people participated in the labour market. However, since the start of this recession, Canadian unemployment has been less than in the US, which has lost approximately six million jobs since the beginning of their recession in 2008. According to Statistics Canada, since employment peaked in October 2008, total employment has fallen by 387,000 (-2.3%). The trend in employment, however, has changed recently. Over the last five months, employment has fallen by 31,000, a much smaller decline than the 357,000 observed during the five months following October 2008. Students aged 15 to 24 had a really tough summer, with an unemployment rate of 19.2%, which is the second highest rate since 1977. Will this increase student debt in the future? Should the government do more to help?   Give us your opinion: Participate in the Breaking Tax and Investment News Poll Women age 25 to 54 took up most of the increase in employment in August, and in terms of provincial gains, all provinces did well, with the exception of Saskatchewan, which had a notable decline in its employment rates. From an industry point of view, increases in employment were observed in a number of industries in August: retail and wholesale trade, finance, insurance, real estate and leasing. Losses arose in business, building and other support services, as well as educational services. For more information, you can view the full report by linking here.   Educational Resources: For more information on tax planning provisions and compliance requirements subscribe to The Knowledge Bureau's online tax reference for taxpayers, financial advisors and their clients: EverGreen Explanatory Notes.

September 5 Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers: But Canada Still in Good Shape for 2010 Recovery By Evelyn Jacks, President, Knowledge Bureau The meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors took place on Saturday, September 5 in London, England. Their deliberations resulted in further steps to strengthen the world's financial system, in the context of recovery from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. See Recommendations For Robust Global Regulation And Oversight However, the significance of the meeting may extend beyond the establishment of rules for banking, lending, regulation, taxation and executive compensation in the G20 countries. It represents a continued exercise in world governance and co-operation, which at a macro level is ground-breaking and very interesting. See World Bank Statistics on Global Economic Recovery These continued efforts and focus of a new guard--a global team of chief stewards, working together within relatively new territoryóare impacting Canadians, as they contemplate their financial future, and potentially another election this fall. The G20 countries represent 85% of the world's economy, and their success in overcoming the financial crisis is critical to investors, business owners and employees everywhere. This weekend's meetings are also significant ahead of the next G20 meeting, The Pittsburg Summit, which occurs September 24th through the 25th, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At that event, US President Obama will meet with leaders representing 85 percent of the world's economy, review progress made in prior meetings, and discuss further required actions towards sustainable recovery from the global economic and financial crisis. So what does it all mean to advisors and their clients back home? While the International Monetary Fund, (IMF) in its April 2009 publication World Economic Outlook has stated that it expects Canada to experience the smallest contraction of all G7 countries in 2009 and the strongest recovery going into 2010, the reality is that as a trading economy, our recovery "is highly dependent on a sustained recovery in the global economy, in particular in the United States. The global economic recovery, in turn, cannot fully materialize until dislocations in global financial markets are fully resolved and these markets are fully functioning.î[1] See Canadian Fundamentals Are Strong, Yet Dependent on Others, Next Time: September 15th .  Therefore, the outcomes of the London meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors and the implementation of these leader's ongoing recommendations within Canada, in the context of its position of strength and dependence on the success of its global trading partners, will need to be well understood by any future federal government. Investors, business owners and employees who are attempting to make decisions with their tax and financial advisors, will find the ongoing outcomes of these meetings insightful and potentially useful in envisioning their own opportunities for financial security. Knowledge Bureau will report on and analyze the details of the global economy and its recovery, the effects of new regulation and taxation, as well the risks and opportunities from a potential fall election on the Real Wealth Managementô of income and assets, together with 15 leading speakers and Canada's top advisors in the financial services, at its Distinguished Advisor Conference in Tucson, Arizona, November 8 to 11. Delegates may register by calling 1-866-953-4769. The London meetings build on the Lecce Framework for Common Principles And Standards For Propriety, Integrity And Transparency developed by the G8 Finance Ministers in Lecce, Italy on June 13, highlighted in our first Special Report on Fixing the Financial Crisis.     Evelyn Jacks is President of The Knowledge Bureau and author of over 40 books on the subject of personal taxation, finance and Real Wealth Managementô. She has recently been appointed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to the Task Force on Financial Literacy. [1] Canada's Economic Action Plan A Second Report To Canadians June 2009, Department of Finance, Canada RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ROBUST GLOBAL REGULATION AND OVERSIGHT By Evelyn Jacks, President, The Knowledge Bureau The G20 Finance Ministers agreed over the weekend that more needs to be done to regulate and oversee the financial services including prior commitments to strength and stability, propriety, integrity and stability and the following: Expansion of the mandate and membership of The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information; More stringent capital requirements for risky trading activities, off-balance sheet items, and securitized products by financial regulators; Proposals to address operating principles regarding compensation and deposit insurance; The establishment of over thirty supervisory colleges. Now, six further actions were recommended: 1. The oversight of Corporate Remuneration and Accountability of Compensation Committees at Board Levels. Delivery of a framework on corporate governance and compensation practices, including greater disclosure and transparency of the level and structure of remuneration for those whose actions have a material impact on risk taking; global standards on pay structure, including on deferral, effective clawback, the relationship between fixed and variable remuneration, and guaranteed bonuses, as well as corporate governance reforms to ensure appropriate board oversight of compensation and risk, including greater independence and accountability of board compensation committees. "We call on the FSB to report to the Pittsburgh Summit with detailed specific proposals for developing this framework, which could be incorporated into supervisory measures, and closely monitoring its delivery. We also ask the FSB to explore possible approaches for limiting total variable remuneration in relation to risk and long-term performance. G20 governments will also explore ways to address non-adherence with the FSB principles.î 2. Stronger regulation and oversight for systemically important firms. 3. Stronger prudential regulation by, among other things, requiring banks to hold more and better quality capital once recovery is assured. "We call on banks to retain a greater proportion of current profits to build capital, where needed, to support lending.î 4. Tackling non-cooperative jurisdictions (NCJs): particularly those that fail to meet regulatory standards, and tax information exchange standards. The Ministers pledged to use countermeasures against tax havens starting in March 2010, possibly through a multilateral instrument. 5. Implementation of international standards, to prevent new risks, particularly with regard to credit derivatives, oversight of credit ratings agencies and hedge funds. 6. Convergence towards a single set of high-quality, global, independent accounting standards on financial instruments, loan-loss provisioning, off-balance sheet exposures and the impairment and valuation of financial assets. WORLD BANK STATISTICS ON GLOBAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY ONLY CAUTIOUS The World Bank predicts that while high income countries will return to positive growth in 2010, these economies will remain depressed well into 2011 and it is only after this that unemployment rates will decline. The "output gapî, the difference between the productive capacity of an economy and the actual level of demand, will likely have reached some 6 percent of GDP by then. See table that follows: The global outlook in summary, 2007-2011 Percent change from previous year, except interest rates and oil price     2007 2008e 2009f 2010f 2011f Global Conditions World Trade Volume 7.5 3.7 -9.7 3.8 6.9 Consumer Prices G-7 Countries a,b 1.7 2.9 0.5 0.8 1.3 United States 2.6 3.8 0.3 1.2 2.0 Commodity Prices (USD terms) Non-oil commodities 17.1 21.0 -30.1 -2.1 1.4 Oil Price (US$ per barrel) c 71.1 97.0 55.5 63.0 65.8 Oil price (percent change) 10.6 36.4 -42.7 13.4 4.6 Manufactures unit export value d 5.5 7.5 1.9 1.0 0.0 Interest Rates $, 6-month (percent) 5.2 3.2 1.5 1.7 2.0 €, 6-month (percent) 4.3 4.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 Real GDP growth e World 3.8 1.9 -2.9 2.0 3.2 Memo item: World (PPP weights) f 5.0 3.0 -1.7 2.8 4.0 High income 2.6 0.7 -4.2 1.3 2.4 OECD Countries 2.5 0.6 -4.2 1.2 2.3 Euro Area 2.7 0.6 -4.5 0.5 1.9 Japan 2.3 -0.7 -6.8 1.0 2.0 United States 2.0 1.1 -3.0 1.8 2.5 Non-OECD countries 5.6 2.4 -4.8 2.2 4.6 Developing countries 8.1 5.9 1.2 4.4 5.7 East Asia and Pacific 11.4 8.0 5.0 6.6 7.8 China* 13.0 9.0 6.5 7.5 8.5 Indonesia 6.3 6.1 3.5 5.0 6.0 Thailand 4.9 2.7 -3.2 2.2 3.1 Europe and Central Asia 6.9 4.0 -4.7 1.6 3.3 Russia 8.1 5.6 -7.5 2.5 3.0 Turkey 4.7 1.1 -5.5 1.5 3.0 Poland 6.7 4.8 0.5 0.9 3.5 Latin America and Caribbean 5.8 4.2 -2.2 2.0 3.3 Brazil 5.7 5.1 -1.1 2.5 4.1 Mexico 3.3 1.4 -5.8 1.7 3.0 Argentina 8.7 6.8 -1.5 1.9 2.1 Middle East and North Africa 5.4 6.0 3.1 3.8 4.6 Egypt g 7.1 7.2 3.8 4.2 5.0 Iran g 6.2 6.9 2.5 3.0 4.0 Algeria 3.0 3.0 2.2 3.5 4.0 South Asia 8.4 6.1 4.6 7.0 7.8 India g 9.0 6.1 5.1 8.0 8.5 Pakistan g 6.4 5.8 1.0 2.5 4.5 Bangladesh g 6.4 6.2 5.0 4.5 5.0 Sub-Saharan Africa 6.2 4.8 1.0 3.7 5.2 South Africa 5.1 3.1 -1.5 2.6 4.1 Nigeria 6.3 5.3 2.9 3.6 5.6 Kenya 7.1 1.7 2.6 3.4 4.9 Memorandum items Developing countries excluding transition countries 8.2 5.9 1.9 4.7 5.9 excluding China and India 6.1 4.5 -1.6 2.5 3.9 Source: World Bank. All forecasts and databases for the Global Development Finance 2009 report were frozen on June 5, 2009. *The latest country forecast for China (as of June 18, 2009) is available in the China Quarterly Update. Note: PPP = purchasing power parity; e = estimate; f= forecast.a. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States.b. In local currency, aggregated using 2000 GDP Weights.c. Simple average of Dubai, Brent and West Texas Intermediate.d. Unit value index of manufactured exports from major economies, expressed in USD.e. GDP in 2000 constant dollars; 2000 prices and market exchange rates.f. GDP measured at 2000 PPP weights. g. In keeping with national practice, data for Egypt,  Iran, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are reported on a fiscal year basis. Expressed on a calendar year basis, GDP growth in these countries is as in the table on the right. 2008e 2009f 2010f 2011f Egypt 6.7 5.1 4.2 4.6 Iran 6.9 2.5 3.0 4.0 India 7.3 5.9 8.1 8.5 Pakistan 6.1 3.3 1.8 3.5 Bangladesh 6.3 5.6 4.7 4.8

September is Back to School Month and aside from reviewing tax breaks for tuition, education and textbook amounts, students and their supporting individuals will want to think about withdrawals from an RRSP under the Lifelong Learning Plan as an alternative to going into debt to fund school costs. Here's what you need to know: Using the RRSP for School Funding: The Lifelong Learning Plan allows a taxpayer to withdraw (under S. 146.02) up to $20,000 of funds saved within their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) for the purpose of furthering their education or the education of their spouse or common-law partner, on a completely tax-free basis. The withdrawal limit is $10,000 per year. No tax will be withheld on such withdrawals. The withdrawals may be a single amount or the taxpayer may make a series of withdrawals as long as the total does not exceed $20,000. Funds are withdrawn from the RRSP using Form RC96 Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) Request to withdraw funds from an RRSP. The funds must be repaid back into the RRSP, over a period not exceeding 10 years, beginning in the fifth calendar year after the withdrawal or the year after the student ceases to be a full-time student for at least three months in the year, whichever comes first. Amounts which are due and not repaid are included in the taxpayer's income under S. 56(1)(h.2) in the year they are due. Taxpayers are free to participate in the plan again once they have repaid the amount borrowed. Using the Tuition Fee Amount: Here is a review of the basic definitions for non-refundable credits and what qualifies for the tuition credit and education amounts: DEFINITIONS IN BRIEF: Non-refundable tax credits available to post-secondary students and their supporting individuals include the following: Amounts for Tuition: Post-secondary students may claim the tuition amount under S.118.5 of the Income Tax Act. Amounts for Education Costs: A monthly education amount available under S.118.6 Amounts for Textbooks: A monthly credit for such costs is specified under S. 118.6(2.1). Transfers to Supporting Individuals: Students must claim the above amounts first on their return. If the student is not taxable, the claim for the tuition, textbook and education amounts may be transferred from a student to the supporting individual under S.118.81 or may be carried forward to future years for use by the student. NOTE: KNOWLEDGE BUREAU SELF STUDY COURSES QUALIFY! Next Time: Which tuition fees are eligible? Educational Resources:   Taking the Knowledge Bureau's certificate course Introduction to Personal Tax Preparation Services is a great way get your start earning a second income as a tax services specialist. See www.knowledgebureau.com for more information on our courses and how to enroll.