Wildfires: Apply for Taxpayer Relief Provisions

It may not be the first concern, but Canadians affected by wildfires may worry at some point about the tax consequences of lost records or missed filing deadlines – the next one on June 16 for those filing T1 returns with proprietorship income. Fortunately, the CRA offers Taxpayer Relief Provisions when there are circumstances beyond a taxpayer’s control, including natural disasters, serious illness or death in the family, or errors made by the CRA, which may trigger penalties and interest due to late or incomplete tax filings. Here’s what you need to know.

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Gone are the days when you had to quit work to start receiving your Canada Pension Plan retirement pension. These days you can start receiving you CPP retirement pension at any age from 60 to 70. There is a catch however.

On September 9, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced that the Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate for employees will be frozen at the 2013 level of $1.88 per $100 of insurable earnings for the years 2014-2016.

On September 6, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced that the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2013-2014 ranked Canada’s financial system as the strongest in the world for the sixth consecutive year.

The CRA has new teeth: new Section 237.3, Reportable Transactions, may in fact, give the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) a real advantage if transactions that seek to avoid taxation fall foul of pre-disclosure rules. 

CRA continues to help Canadians use more electronic services.