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.

Federal Auditor General Michael Ferguson released his Spring Report on April 30th, including an audit on the Canada Revenue Agency’s struggling effort to collect tax debts owed by Canadians in the last few years. How bad has their performance been?

In the House of Commons last week, Ministers Flaherty and Menzies tabled a detailed Notice of Ways and Means Motion in order to begin the implementation of tax measures initially introduced in the March 21, 2013 Federal Budget.

In a narrow vote, 54% of Knowledge Bureau Report readers do not agree with the new budget proposal that allows CRA to pay a taxable finder’s fee for information on international tax cheats.

A decision released recently from the Tax Court of Canada will be of interest to those seeking to apply for the new housing rebate for a principal residence. Wong v. The Queen, 2013 TCC 23 featured an interesting analysis of subsection 254(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act (the Act) as well as actions from the appellants that is worthy of note.

The Bank of Canada unveiled the latest and last of the new redesigned polymer bank notes this week. The $5 and $10 polymer notes will complete the series that began with the $100 note in November 2011.

Employees who leave their jobs and receive retiring allowances should include an RRSP strategy in their planning to keep more of that money.