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:

On May 17, the finance department presented draft legislation to amend the Excise Tax Act to begin to treat cryptocurrencies in a manner similar to legal tender. The changes are deemed to have taken place on May 18, 2019 and introduce a new term: the virtual payment instrument.

Tax Freedom Day is coming soon! That’s the day you start working for yourself instead of government. In fact, in Canada, we spend a lot more time working for government than our neighbors to the south do.

What are the taxpayer’s rights, and what are the rights of CRA during a tax audit? These answers can be found in the Income Tax Act S. 231.1.  While surprise visits are unusual - a letter requesting certain files for inspection is more routine - an authorized person employed by CRA may actually visit, unannounced "at all reasonable times, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of this Act”.  Here is what they can and cannot do:

Here’s some good news to end the month: the IMF expects Canada to be the second-fastest growing G7 economy in 2019 (second to the United States), and it’s tied for the fastest growing in 2020. Canada’s labour force has also introduced 1 million new jobs, most of them full-time, driving the unemployment rate to its lowest levels in more than 40 years. But, there is more to the story.

It’s graduation time – such a wonderful moment of achievement for both the students and their parents! Share these essential tips and guidelines about the RESP with new families who are embarking on the savings journey towards a successful education outcome two decades from now. These are excerpted from the newly released Essential Tax Facts, 2019 edition.

Amy is a graduate of the MFA™-Retirement and Succession Services Specialist program in Ontario. Amy had a special motivation for enhancing her education as part of her own succession planning. Her goal is to take over running her step dad’s tax and financial services business. Here’s her story: