Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement
After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show.Majority Says No to Payday Loans and Tax Discounting
Last month we asked “Do payday loan companies and tax discounting providers still have a place in Canadian financial services?”, and the results are in…
Another US Fiscal Crisis? FSB May Come to Rescue
As another financial crisis looms in the US (. . .the government runs out of money on October 1, and the US is about to hit a $16.7 trillion debt ceiling and go into default in mid-October), Lawrence Schembri, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada spoke to the Certified Financial Accountants society (CFA) in Ottawa on September 24th about the necessity of the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
GAAR Turns 25
It has been 25 years since the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) were implemented as part of our tax code; their application remains somewhat uncertain and experts disagree over its effectiveness.
Evelyn Jacks: It’s time to Assess Your Net Worth
It’s official: October 1 marks “year end tax planning season” and if you want to make it count, the best place to start making plans is to assess your personal and family net worth.
Audit Defence: Will Fishing Expeditions Increase?
Under Section 231.1 of the Act, an authorized person may, at any reasonable time, for any purpose related to the administration or enforcement of the Act, enter into a taxpayer’s premises, inspect and examine property, and require the assistance of the taxpayer to answer all reasonable questions in relation to the enforcement of the Act.
What to Consider When Preparing Your Estate Plan
To everything there is a season, and for many, understanding the tax consequences of death on personal and family net worth is a crowning achievement that allows for a powerful wealth transition. This type of preparedness, unfortunately, is rare.
