Bill C-31: Royal Asset and New CRA Powers Could Come Soon

Changes are coming to the Income Tax Act and both you and your clients will all be affected with new tax risks including longer tax audits. Bill C-31, which passed second reading in the House of Commons on June 3 and is now at committee stage, contains elements of previous Federal Budgets that will expand the CRA’s compliance and enforcement powers. Here’s what you need to know and pass along to your clients:

The federal government gave character conversion transactions a mid-summer reprieve on July 11, making the transition process somewhat easier for companies that use derivative forward agreements to change the character of income transactions to capital transactions.

CRA answered close to 3 million calls this past tax filing season, and 20 million—or over 76% of tax filers—filed electronically this year, an increase of 17% over last year.

One of the most difficult asset transitions can involve the family cottage. In this second of a two-part article in family cottage planning, Knowledge Bureau author David Christianson discusses potential solutions to this sticky issue.

This year’s average tax refund of $1641 takes a big bite out of retirement savings for Canadian families.

The Canada Disability Savings Grant can add significantly to the pensions set up for disabled individuals through the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

This excerpt from Evelyn Jacks’ Jacks on Tax outlines the different categories of residency and provides an answer.