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:

There is an important deadline coming up for those who received a reprieve on their 2020 outstanding balances: interest will accrue on that balance starting May 1, 2022. Who does this deadline apply to?

Last summer, the government announced a new temporary supplement for families with children under the age of 6 entitled to the CCB: The Canada Child Benefit Young Child Supplement. Those who have not tapped into this program and had eligible children in 2021 still have until the end of 2023 to become eligible for the CCBYCS payments. That means that they must have applied for the Canada Child Benefit and filed their 2019 and 2020 return by that deadline.

The short answer is yes, employees can write off the cost of hiring an assistant if required to perform their employment duties, as verified by their contract of employment and a signed form T2200 Declaration of Employment Conditions by the employer.  Here are the details you need to know:

Budget 2022 proposes to provide an additional $1,200 million over five years, starting in 2022-2023 to increase both the investigation and prosecution of entities committing tax evasion. The additional funding will increase CRA’s efficiency and ability to combat tax evasion, which is something it already takes very seriously according to recent examples.

Act now! Today is the deadline for early-bird tuition savings. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to join Canada's most prominent tax educators, best-selling authors and technical experts for a comprehensive budget, retirement & estate planning update on May 18, 2022.

On occasion, a business will be selected for a review of their books and records by the CRA.  This is called a payroll examination, and the goal is to ensure compliance with respect to deductions and remittances, for your payroll account.