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:

Jan Sawchuk, of Peachland, B.C., on the Basic Bookkeeping for Small Businesses course

With the looming Oct. 2 deadline for commentary on proposed tax changes to private corporations, the business community is renewing its call for the federal government to scrap the proposals in favour of a comprehensive tax policy review.

More than 65 per cent of Canada’s 14 million households contributed to at least one registered savings account (RPP, RRSP or TFSA) in 2015, according to recently released Statistics Canada data from the 2016 Census.

Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) Canadians age 55 or older — and 14 per cent of those 65 or older — participated in the labour force last year, the highest participation rates among older Canadians since the collection of comparable Statistics Canada data began in 1976. But who exactly are these stalwart workers, and at what age are they retiring?

Costs incurred to attend a conference may be a deductible business expense. The cost of the tuition for the conference may also be deductible or be eligible for a non-refundable tax credit.

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.” —Georg Christoph Lichtenberg