Wildfires: Apply for Taxpayer Relief Provisions

It may not be the first concern, but Canadians affected by wildfires may worry at some point about the tax consequences of lost records or missed filing deadlines – the next one on June 16 for those filing T1 returns with proprietorship income. Fortunately, the CRA offers Taxpayer Relief Provisions when there are circumstances beyond a taxpayer’s control, including natural disasters, serious illness or death in the family, or errors made by the CRA, which may trigger penalties and interest due to late or incomplete tax filings. Here’s what you need to know.

Two CEOs from our Platinum Partner organizations will take the stage at DAC Acuity, November 13 in beautiful Banff to tackle critical skills required to embrace. They both happen to be Tony’s, too:  Tony Demarin, CEO of BCV Asset Management will bring his thought leadership to the topic The Reset: Portfolio Construction at Ground Zero. Tony Mahabir, CEO of CANFIN Financial will discuss Financial Stewardship in a Digital Age.  

According to the CRA’s 2023 tax filing statistics to August 27, nearly 31 million Canadians have filed a tax return, and for those that owe the average balance sits just shy of $7,500! This points to a high demand for the specialized services of qualified tax professionals who can help taxfilers pay only the correct amount of tax and get all their tax benefits, too. 

CRA typically moves into a “post-payment” verification mode after tax season and this year they are well armed with new data collected electronically from 93% of all tax filers and new funding, too.  That means tax and financial advisors can expect to hear from clients for audit assistance and/or direction on the most appropriate savings account to tap to repay their refunds or benefits – all adding to the inflationary pain Canadians may already be feeling.  Here are the tax filing stats to August 27, 2023 and an insight into the audit plans that are coming.

CRA recently paid over $122,000 for a report, Underground Economy In Today’s Post-Pandemic Environment. Curiously, as part of its research, it wanted to find out if accountants would identify small business owners who do not pay their taxes, according to news reports.  Upon reviewing the CRA’s 2023-2024 departmental plan in preparation for the September 20 CE Summit on Audit Defence, it begs the question: why would CRA want to erode trust amongst stakeholders, when overall participation in the tax filing requirement is so high? Check it out:

Tax and financial advisors agree there is a retirement crisis, but the consensus was more split when our August poll question asked “The average retirement age of the self-employed is 68.4 – 5.7 years after those in the public sector; 3.7 more than in private sector. Is one co-hort better prepared for retirement than the others?” The majority at 67% agreed, but many commented that financial literacy is a contributing factor. Read on to check out the comments.

Image waking up to a normal day of driving your cab, only to be involved in a devastating accident in a train that leaves you in a hospital bed for 5 years at the age of 32.  How do you break free to transform your future, when you don’t know if you will ever walk again?  Hear the inspiring story of how one man with a high school diploma transformed himself to become an accountant, financial advisor, investor, and thriving entrepreneur of 6 office locations and more to come.  Learn how discipline, vision and focus made the difference for Mandeep Duggal, President of Pro Tax Block and his remarkable family only at the 2023 Distinguished Advisor Conference in Banff. Early-bird registration ends September 30.