Red Ink on the Prairies

A day after Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard brought down a Budget featuring a $6.3 Billion deficit, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled his government’s budget on March 19. Next up was Finance Minister Adrian Salas, who tabled the Manitoba Budget on March 24. The common thread: there’s lots of red ink on the Prairies. But that’s where the budget documents differ between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s the latest tax news and why it matters to the advice you give your clients.

The pressure is on! Taxpayers and their tax accountants are buckling under the strain of lockdowns in the midst of a very a complex tax season. Recent statistics from CRA show that we were only at the halfway point on April 19 as only 16.6 million of approximately 31 million tax returns expected had been filed. It’s notable too that 19% of tax filers have a balance due. Here are nine last minute tax tips for those who owe and those who have to break it to them:

What did the April 19, 2020 Federal Budget tell us about required new approaches to retirement planning? Rising inflation is a new concern, and this requires a reworking of retirement projections, as well as projections for the funding of ongoing needs of survivors and heirs.  More specifically, there are two tax provisions to take note of:

An astounding 98% of Knowledge Bureau poll respondents have given CRA’s service standards a thumbs down this year. It’s not too late for you to weigh in, too and share your thoughts on the question: “In your view, has CRA’s service level to professional tax advisors improved this year?”

As your clients enter the 2nd half of their retirement years, there are many significant issues that begin to emerge such as illness, cost of care and loss of capacity for key decision makers. Without careful planning, years of effective decision making can be easily undone through increased costs of care and potentially increased costs of taxation.

There are three secrets to building a brand:  knowing your story, building a network, and sharing that story with your network.  On May 26th, we are giving you an exclusive opportunity to do so with a national networking opportunity. But there is one catch:  you will need to be prepared to have fun and build your professional connections.   

Doug Buss, RWM™ shares why he loved the RWM™ Designation program:  "It was a wonderful revitalization of the value that we are bringing to our clients." Get to know more about Doug, a Winnipeg native and outstanding sax player, too!