Podcast: Automatic Tax Filing - Will It Work?

Last week Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau  tabled his annual report:  In Pursuit of Better Service: Taxpayers Deserve More.  once again, it was nothing short of scathing, as CRA received its highest number of complaints in the last three years.  Calling our “completely nuts” Income Tax Act a potential barrier, he is nonetheless pushing for automatic tax filing as a potential solution.  A new episode of Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks & Friends available next week, will feature guest Gillian Petit, Ph.D. - author of a great report, Welcome News for Lower-Income Canadians, but There’s More to Do - which takes a deeper dive.  Consider the following:

Application forms for the 2016 DAC Young Advisors Award are now being accepted from young advisors, their clients, employers or mentors and can be found on the Knowledge Bureau website at the Conference tab at www.knowledgebureau.com. The application process will close on May 31 and selection will be announced on June 15, 2016.

“Do not value money for any more nor any less than its worth; it is a good servant but a bad master.” Alexander Dumas

Do you know what one of the most missed credits on the personal tax return is?  It’s the Disability Tax Amount, a substantial non-refundable tax credit valued at $7899 in the 2015 tax year; 8001 in 2016.  It can be claimed by someone who is markedly restricted in the activities of daily living on a permanent basis, or by their supporting individual.

Dividends of taxable Canadian corporations enjoy preferred tax rates, but some complexities in reporting can plague unsuspecting filers. Here are some tips for last-minute filers:

Income splitting is an excellent strategy to reduce a family’s tax load and it is even easier when you are self employed. Consider Steve, who currently makes $84,000 in his small unincorporated business in B.C. He wants to pay his new wife, Carin, half this amount, as they work together in the business. Can he do it? How much can he save?

Statistics Canada released new unemployment numbers for February on April 21, 2016, and unfortunately, on a year-over-year basis, there were close to 35,000 more EI beneficiaries this February than there were in the same month a year ago—an increase of 6.7%.