News Room

The CRA TSlip Saga: An Update

This tax season has been particularly challenging for both taxpayers and tax professionals. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides tax information slips—such as T3, T4, T5, and their variations—through secure online portals: My Account and Represent a Client (RAC). This year, there were lots of problems with these portals, and now, it appears, CRA is not being quite transparent about when the slips were actually visible to clients and that doesn’t seem fair. Here’s an update on where we stand now.

Tax Efficient Gifting

As we enter the fourth quarter, you may be planning meetings with your clients to minimize the tax bite for 2013. For many clients, charitable donations form part of that plan. But how much income tax can you save by making a charitable donation.

Majority Says No to Payday Loans and Tax Discounting

Last month we asked “Do payday loan companies and tax discounting providers still have a place in Canadian financial services?”, and the results are in…

Another US Fiscal Crisis? FSB May Come to Rescue

As another financial crisis looms in the US (. . .the government runs out of money on October 1, and the US is about to hit a $16.7 trillion debt ceiling and go into default in mid-October), Lawrence Schembri, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada spoke to the Certified Financial Accountants society (CFA) in Ottawa on September 24th about the necessity of the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

GAAR Turns 25

It has been 25 years since the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) were implemented as part of our tax code; their application remains somewhat uncertain and experts disagree over its effectiveness.

Evelyn Jacks: It’s time to Assess Your Net Worth

It’s official: October 1 marks “year end tax planning season” and if you want to make it count, the best place to start making plans is to assess your personal and family net worth.  

Audit Defence: Will Fishing Expeditions Increase?

Under Section 231.1 of the Act, an authorized person may, at any reasonable time, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of the Act, enter into a taxpayer’s premises, inspect and examine property, and require the assistance of the taxpayer to answer all reasonable questions in relation to the enforcement of the Act.
 
 
 
Knowledge Bureau Poll Question

Are your clients owed money by CRA? As of March 31, 2025, the CRA holds about 10.2 million uncashed cheques totalling $1.7 billion. In your view, why is this happening?

  • Yes
    12 votes
    60%
  • No
    8 votes
    40%