Bill C-31: Royal Asset and New CRA Powers Could Come Soon

Changes are coming to the Income Tax Act and both you and your clients will all be affected with new tax risks including longer tax audits. Bill C-31, which passed second reading in the House of Commons on June 3 and is now at committee stage, contains elements of previous Federal Budgets that will expand the CRA’s compliance and enforcement powers. Here’s what you need to know and pass along to your clients:

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.

At this time of year, professional tax and financial services are looking for highly qualified personal tax professionals for seasonal tax preparation and planning work Knowledge Bureau’s Distinguished Financial Advisor (DFA) – Tax Service Specialist™ designation bring you up to speed quickly with its online programs; in fact you (or your staff) can begin today.