The Gateway:  Maximizing the Impact of the Disability Tax Credit

In addition to reducing income tax through a non-refundable credit, the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) serves as a gateway to a wide range of additional tax benefits and government programs. Eligibility for the DTC can unlock enhanced credits, financial supplements, and long-term savings opportunities that go well beyond the tax return. Understanding how the DTC connects to these broader supports is essential for maximizing financial stability—both for individuals living with disabilities and the family members who support them.  Unfortunately, many taxpayers miss this credit and their tax and financial advisors can certainly help when this happens.

It’s an advisor’s duty to help protect their clients from financial abuse, and seniors are most vulnerable to this. In fact, according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, 62.5 percent of elder abuse cases are financial. What can you do to give your senior clients the gift of financial protection this holiday season?

Rosanna Sternat has attended the Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) for six consecutive years, and was most inspired by Knowledge Bureau’s first annual Business Builder Retreat. She shares how the educational experience has benefited her public accounting practice in Selkirk, Manitoba.

Will Bank of Canada Interest rate setting impact your holiday euphoria? Bank of Canada’s Steven Poloz announced today that the overnight rate would remain at 1.75%.

In the holiday spirit yet? This news might dampen it: on Friday November 30, Statistics Canada released a report on GDP, income and expenditure for the third quarter of 2018. The big news? In 2018, Canadians have had the worst household savings rate on an annual basis since 2005, averaging only 1.4% over the past year. For the third quarter of this year, the household savings rate was a mere 0.8%; the lowest quarterly level since early in 2017.

On the heels of recent criticisms by the Auditor General, Knowledge Bureau Report readers weighed in on CRA service levels and they were conclusive: 87% of last month’s poll respondents say that the CRA needs to work harder. They cited a myriad of issues from 32-week wait times for a T1 Adjustment to the need to correct CRA’s errors, some of them big. 

One-third of parents of millennials say that their children are a financial strain that could ultimately take a toll on their own retirement. That’s the ongoing challenge that the boomers face. When it comes to managing their money, this generation needs to nudge their millennials towards financial independence or place their own retirement plans at risk.