When CRA officially opened the electronic floodgates on tax filing season on February 23 this year, it was with a number of pieces of news. Did you know, for example, that the GST/HST Credit has now been officially renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB)? You get it by filing a tax return and interacting with CRA’s new digital services, which unfortunately still refer to the old name – the GST/HST Credit. It’s just one of those “game changers” that make Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks and Friends, starting this week for its second season, so valuable to Canadians.
An incorrect approach to the technical side of payroll poses a risk to both employers and their employees: it can cost them money, cause them to incur penalties with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or worse, face legal ramifications. Especially at this time of year (tax time) the pressure is on.
The first ‘record’ of accounting dates back as early as the Mesopotamian civilization, where simple documentation was maintained in the books. Around the 15th century, an Italian monk named Luca Pacioli, considered the father of accounting, developed the double-entry bookkeeping system, which changed the accounting landscape completely. The evolution of bookkeeping has a come a long way from the 15th century when accounting ledgers were completed by hand, compared to today’s digitized process.
CIBC’s latest annual Financial Priorities poll holds some disturbing revelations. When survey respondents were asked how they are determining how much money they will need to retire:
A shocking 33% indicated they are using their “best guess” and only 14% indicated they are arriving at a number with the help of an advisor.
With high inflation rates, currently 5.9% on average across the country – all Canadians are feeling the pinch. One could argue that those earning an income that varies significantly year-to-year are being hit even harder.
Did you know 2023 is an extremely important Milestone Year for CE/CPD Credits in the financial services industry? Knowledge Bureau designates need 15 CE Credits by June 30 to relicense; IIROC Cycle 9 ends on December 31, 2023 and Insurance Council licensing CE credits are due at various times throughout the year. That’s why Knowledge Bureau is offering 5 new and exciting CE options to meet your professional development needs in 2023:
The price of lettuce in Canada – up over 35% in a year – is still an eyebrow raiser, despite the easing of the inflation rate in January to 5.9%, according to Statistics Canada. What does that have to do with Asset Management? Simply that 2023 is proving to be a tough financial year and advisors need to up their game to manage the concerns of anxious taxpayers and investors who are tapping into portfolios to pay for inflation and recent interest rate hikes, and coming up soon – their tax bills.