Fall Federal Budget: Will Spending Be Cut?

Canada has historically presented an annual budget since Confederation in 1867, even through periods like World Wars and the Great Depression, but we have recently experienced the longest period without a full federal budget in our history. By the time the next one is brought down, expected in October 2025, it will have been 18 months since the controversial April 2024 budget which introduced the doomed capital gains inclusion rate hikes. What can we expect?

Application forms for the 2016 DAC Young Advisors Award are now being accepted from young advisors, their clients, employers or mentors and can be found on the Knowledge Bureau website at the Conference tab at www.knowledgebureau.com. The application process will close on May 31 and selection will be announced on June 15, 2016.

“Do not value money for any more nor any less than its worth; it is a good servant but a bad master.” Alexander Dumas

Do you know what one of the most missed credits on the personal tax return is?  It’s the Disability Tax Amount, a substantial non-refundable tax credit valued at $7899 in the 2015 tax year; 8001 in 2016.  It can be claimed by someone who is markedly restricted in the activities of daily living on a permanent basis, or by their supporting individual.

Dividends of taxable Canadian corporations enjoy preferred tax rates, but some complexities in reporting can plague unsuspecting filers. Here are some tips for last-minute filers:

Income splitting is an excellent strategy to reduce a family’s tax load and it is even easier when you are self employed. Consider Steve, who currently makes $84,000 in his small unincorporated business in B.C. He wants to pay his new wife, Carin, half this amount, as they work together in the business. Can he do it? How much can he save?

Statistics Canada released new unemployment numbers for February on April 21, 2016, and unfortunately, on a year-over-year basis, there were close to 35,000 more EI beneficiaries this February than there were in the same month a year ago—an increase of 6.7%.