Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering
Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:Economic Update: News for Business in Canada
On December 14, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, released an Economic and Fiscal Update 2021 with measures that will impact businesses throughout the Nation. The most relevant measures are listed as follows:
Coming Soon: EI for the Gig Economy
Will the federal government soon find a new revenue source for Employment Insurance? Will gig economy workers soon qualify for EI? The answer may be yes, based on upcoming consultations on the matter.
Saving Receipts: Deductions for Non-Commissioned Employees
Do you know someone who is a commissioned employee? Do they know that they have more deductions available to them than a non-commissioned employee? Professionals from the tax accounting and financial services industries would add big value to the relationship with these clients before year end, in helping them decipher the difference in write-offs and making sure they gather documentation. Here is what's important when discussing the deductions for employees.
Use a Tax Strategy to Offset Potential Rising Mortgage Costs
Did you know that housing investment has outgrown business investment for the first time since 1961 and housing investment currently sits at 71% of GDP and is growing at two times the rate of the economy? Canadians are devoting more capital to housing and with that shift in investing activity, there may be room for year end financial planning to mitigate upcoming risks on the horizon. One of them is rising prices – interest and inflation, for example.
Canada Job Grant: Options for Education Funding
Knowledge is power, and if you are looking to train new and returning employees for the upcoming tax season, it can also be government sponsored. The Canada Job Grant could potentially help fund employee training for tax season for up to $15,000 per trainee in certain jurisdictions. One of our clients received that funding for Knowledge Bureau training in less than two weeks. What are the granting and funding options when you need to train staff in a hurry? It depends on where you live. Here are the details.
Avoid Paying High Interest Costs to CRA
Did you know that just under 200,000 people still owed money to CRA for the 2014 tax year going into the last holiday season? That’s less than 1% of all individual tax filers and they don’t owe that much: the median gap is $780 per individual. But owing CRA money can be very expensive. Here is how they are calculated and what you can do to speed up tax bill delinquency to start this year’s holiday season on sounder financial footing:
