Seniors Targeted? The Tax Audits Begin

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) routinely reviews or audits tax filings, including personal, trust, corporate, and HST returns. The most common types of reviews that focus on personal tax returns include, but are not limited to, Pre-Assessment Reviews, Processing Reviews, and the Matching Program. This year there is a new focus: the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit introduced to help families better care for their elders. But claiming it, like other tax benefits, comes with a tax snare. Read on to learn more.

You haven't done your taxes for a year or two or more – yikes – now what? Bottom line: get on it, quickly, and more important, start a relationship with a qualified tax professional who has taken a recent audit defense course. 

Roller Hire v The Queen (2013). A common battle in the Tax Court of Canada is one between the designation of employee or independent contractor. The case of Roller Hire is a recent example, and Judge Hogan made some interesting comments for the Court.

Recent RRSP & TFSA savings statistics show that only 26% of eligible taxfilers contributed to an RRSP in 2010, but this dropped to 24%  in 2011.

Is it true if you have a balance owing to CRA and you do not want to pay on-line you need to call CRA for a pre-printed form?

The Atlantic Investment Tax Credit provides a 10% refundable tax credits for certain investments in new buildings, machinery and equipment used in the Atlantic region and the Gaspé Peninsula, in farming, fishing, logging, manufacturing and processing, oil & gas, and mining industries.

Canada has one of the largest networks of bilateral tax treaties in the world. In Canada, the Government signs treaties with other nations, but Parliament must enact the laws to make the rules within them enforceable.