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:

For individuals and families, the tax filing and tax payment extensions are good news. However, Canadians who are owed refunds will still want to file their returns as soon as possible before the pandemic peaks. Those who owe should consider filing soon as well in order to know exactly how much is due and get their financial affairs in order. Canadians will also want to make decisions about paying down high interest, non-deductible consumer debt as quickly as possible to take advantage of lower interest rates on operating lines and/or business and housing loans. There are, in fact, some opportunities to shore up financial health in these measures that follow:

In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, many Canadian businesses are now in a position where they have to change the way that they operate, which directly impacts their revenue streams, and in turn, their employees. The government has introduced a number of measures to assist Canadian businesses, particularly SMEs.

As things change quickly with the coronavirus crisis, over 30 million people are poised to file tax returns in the next seven weeks to meet the filing deadlines of March 31 for trusts, April 30 for individual personal tax and June 15 for proprietorships.  Thousands of professionals will be helping them.  How can you protect yourself, your staff and your clients? 

 Your clients will likely need your guidance on the tax and financial consequences of life and economic events brought on by the coronovirus. Following is a checklist of financial issues for you to discuss with them. 

New from Knowledge Bureau: it’s time to shed some light on your knowledge gaps! With short courses & client education tools especially designed for busy tax, bookkeeping and financial professionals. The first three modules are now available, and if you enrol today to deepen your knowledge, you’ll receive CE courses for you, presentation for your clients, client-handouts and more. Plus, you can take advantage of an exclusive introductory offer.

Knowledge Bureau’s got your back to help you continue your professional development during any pandemic downtime. Train or retrain new staff. Existing students: If you need more time, call us and we’ll extend your study time at no extra charge.