No More Sworn Testimony, But Audits Are Still Stress Inducing

“That” Phrase: it’s one no taxpayer wants to hear – digitally or otherwise. “You’re being audited.” If you’ve had to deliver that news you’ll know that the reaction can range from indignity to shock to panic. Based on the latest piece of legislation before Parliament, you might have to tell more of your clients to buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. CRA will now have greater powers. Consider this:

Knowledge Bureau wishes all our readers a happy, prosperous and healthy 2016.  We look forward to interpreting and sharing the latest breaking, tax and financial news with you this year. As always, we look forward to your feedback and comments on our articles and poll question.

The Bank of Canada has announced the 2015 average exchange rates for several currencies against the Canadian dollar. While some might be curious about how many Fijian dollars or Panamanian balboas one might get in exchange for a Canadian dollar, the currencies we are most often concerned about are the US dollar (1.2787 for 2015) and the Euro (1.4182 for 2015).

There is lots of news for Canadian taxpayers in receipt of German pensions. Ignoring these developments can result in unnecessarily high levels of taxation, or in punitive penalties for non-compliance, in both Germany and Canada.

Separation and divorce are expensive life events; they can be much more financially damaging when tax rules are not taken into account. The recent case of Blue v. the Queen in the Tax Court of Canada, although successful for the appellant, shows how easily the terms of a well-intentioned separation agreement may be ruled ineligible for tax relief.

Should Canadians top up their TFSA to get a jump on tax free savings in 2016 now that annual contributions have been capped at $5500, or should tax savings with an RRSP contribution be top priority now til the RRSP deadline of February 29, 2016?

Knowledge Bureau is pleased to announce Liberty Tax will join the January Personal Tax Update Workshop tour as a national sponsor.  Liberty Tax has more than 4,400 offices in North America, including 270 Liberty Tax Service offices in Canada.