News Room

Opportunity: Canadian Dollar Stabilizes, Somewhat

Things have started to turn around for the Canadian dollar in the second quarter of 2025. It hit a 22 year low in January of 2025. Investors and property owners, who have been swooning at the high burn rate in their travel plans and property maintenance abroad, may wish to consider recent more positive trends and consider some risk mitigation opportunities now that the dollar is stabilizing somewhat.  

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Now is the time you want your entire team stay up to date with the most recent changes in tax, investment, retirement and budget announcements so we have Big News for you: a special incentive for new subscribers to Knowledge Bureau Report. Invite your team, colleagues, associates and others in your circle of influence to stay in the know and you will be entered for a chance to win a ballot to win any of the following prizes:

Need Answers to Tax Question?  Expand Your Toolkit

No time to wait for hours on hold with the CRA?  Expand your tax season toolkit with Knowledge Bureau’s suite of immediately implementable tools including EverGreen Explanatory Notes and the Knowledge Bureau Tax Planning Calculators.  These tools are designed to provide you with answers to trigger questions your clients have about tax efficiency and the important financial decisions they need to make.

Basic Rules on Interest Deductibility

With recent interest rate hikes in the news, taxpayers will have more questions about the deductibility of interest costs.  Exactly when is interest fully deductible as a carrying cost or a business deduction? When does it form part of the capital cost of the property? Finally, when do new legislative proposals recently released by Finance Canada begin to restrict interest cost deductibility and for whom?  Here’s what you need to know to have more confident conversations between advisors and taxpayers:

Over-Contributions and Excess Contributions to an RRSP

RRSP season ended on March 1, so any contributions to be deducted on the taxpayer’s 2021 return must have already been made. These contributions cannot exceed the maximum RRSP contribution for 2021 which appeared on the 2020 Notice of Assessment. So long as the contributions made are less than the maximum allowed, the taxpayer can deduct as much or as little of the contributions made on their 2021 return. Complications arise, though, when the amount contributed exceeds the maximum.

New Canada Digital Adoption Program for Small Businesses

On March 3, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced that the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is now fully active and ready for qualifying businesses to apply for funding. The purpose of the CDAP is to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “grow their online presence and upgrade or adopt digital technologies.” Here are the details:

Resources You Need for a Busy Tax Season

Tax season is now in full swing, according to the most recent 2022 season filing statistics from the CRA. As of March 7 almost 2.5 million returns had been filed, with over 95% through electronic filing methods E=File and Netfile. As we approach the height of the season, does you team have the necessary resources to deal with the demands?
 
 
 
Knowledge Bureau Poll Question

Do you believe Canada’s tax system based, on self-assessment, has suffered under recent changes at CRA and by Finance Canada? If so, what is the one wish you have for tax reform?

  • Yes
    342 votes
    69.8%
  • No
    148 votes
    30.2%