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:

Today certain tax credits have been enhanced to help both full-time and part-time students while they are studying, including the monthly education amount. Only one education amount may be claimed for each month: the full-time amount or the part-time amount.   Here’s the criteria behind the numbers students will find on their Form T2202A, required to make the claim:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –   Modern day advisors need to learn a more proactive approach to both educating and assisting their assist clients through new conversations that are multi-generational in nature.  Evelyn Jacks, President of Knowledge Bureau is delighted that one of Canada’s top 50 financial advisors – David Christianson -  will help steer the audience in the right direction with his experience and wit again this year.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Lisa McKee, MFA-Business Services Specialist, reveals the secret of success for her firm, McKee Accounting: Putting the client at the centre of everything to provide high-quality customer service.

Many small businesses in Canada are led by individuals who are in or near retirement age. The majority of these companies require assistance with succession-related issues, often due to a lack of planning within the business. Qualified advisors have a significant opportunity to assist in this regard, building clients for the long term.

It truly takes a village of financial support to help keep students out of a lifetime of debt. The RESP is a good savings vehicle for parents to consider, because it comes with a government “sweetener.”

Did you know that Canada suffers about 8,000 wildfires every year that ravage 2.5 million hectares of land1? This has been a particularly difficult year in BC and the northern prairies. CRA wants taxpayers affected by natural disasters to know that Taxpayer Relief Provisions are available to waive penalties and interest on taxes owing if tax filing is late as a result. But a tax return must still be filed.