Tax Pros: Canada’s Tax System Has Taken a Big Hit

Canada’s tax and financial pros weighed in enthusiastically on last month’s two-part Knowledge Bureau Report Opinion Poll in which we asked: "Do you believe Canada’s tax system based on self-assessment, has suffered under recent changes at CRA and by Finance Canada?" 71% said yes. Part 2 was this question: "If so, what is the one wish you have for tax reform?" The responses were very interesting:

New 2016 federal budget includes business tax measures addressing tax changes for business income.

Review additional tax measures announced by the Government in the 2016 Federal Budget.

The changes the Liberal government has introduced for families has some surprising results, now that we’ve had some time to do some number crunching.

It’s reasonably common knowledge that higher wealth accumulators in Canada will want to do some extra planning to avoid the 33% high federal income tax rate applicable to the terminal return of the last surviving spouse.  

Employers are generally required to pay for the premises, assets and supplies used up by their employees in performing their duties, but in some cases the employee will pay for those costs and be able to claim a tax deduction for them.

The Canada Revenue Agency has produced a new Notice of Assessment that is easier to read, a long overdue initiative on the financial literacy front. It will now contain assessments of multiple tax years on one form, which Tax Services Specialists will want to review carefully to ensure the best tax efficiencies are applied over the period, and to preserve appeal rights.