Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

Linda Baldwin, DFA-Tax Services Specialist™ shares how Knowledge Bureau courses have helped her keep up to date on frequent tax changes she’s required to know to operate a successful tax business. Linda also tell us that a Knowledge Bureau education is a requirement for training any new staff she hires.

Tax season is far from over.  As of May 3, only 25.5 million tax returns had been received by CRA with over 30 million expected in total, including those from new filers who received the taxable CERB and CRB payments. So far it has been an overwhelmingly difficult tax season, according to professionals who answered our April poll: “In your view, has CRA’s service level to professional tax advisors improved this year?”. It was conclusive:  97% said no. Here were the challenges faced:

The $30 billion national day care initiative announced in the April 19, 2021 federal budget deserves a deeper dive, especially in conversation with your Millennial clients.  It is important, it will be expensive, but it may not be the right model for the times. The issue has already garnered some important debate that provides a 360 degree lens. There are lots of worries too, ranging from health and safety to financial affordability and tax deductibility. 

To scale a business means to grow it without a big increase in resources.  In fact, when your systems and procedures, technology, funding and staffing are all set up to build on the demand coming your way, the happy result is both top line and bottom line growth.  The difference, post-pandemic will be that to some degree, business owners are all starting a new business cycle again. What do we mean by that?

The focus after April 30 is tax filers who are late and proprietors who have until June 15 to avoid late filing penalties.  However, this is also the time to think about your business and how to build on the momentum you have created during tax season.  Consider these milestones!

The May 20 Virtual CE Summit: The most important virtual summit you can attend to help your clients with their tax, retirement and estate planning for 2021. The federal budget provisions will have an effect on the tactics you need to use for sound retirement planning in a post-pandemic world, and with the height of this tax season behind us, it’s time to look ahead to the future.