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:

The federal government announced a third round of enhancements to its Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program on April 8, as it tries to stave off thousands of bankruptcies across the small business community. MPs will need to be recalled to parliament to enact the legislation, which reduces the 30% revenue test to 15% for March only and introduces an alternative method for calculating the revenue.  Some employer-paid CPP/EI refunds may also be available.  

It’s money that Canadians needed quickly and the government must be commended for their processing over 4 million CERB applications to date, and close to 2 million this week alone. But are Canadians setting themselves up for a significant audit process in the future?  These funds are taxable, and there are additional audit risks that should be a hot topic of discussion for advisors and their clients.

Here’s a social distancing tax tip:  convert your in-person newspaper delivery into a digital subscription.  If you do, you’ll receive a new tax credit on the 2020 tax return. Here are the details:

The federal government pushed out this year’s tax filing deadlines in order to relieve some pressure on taxpayers, professionals, and CRA staff all coping with the effects of the pandemic. Has tax season slowed down as a result? It doesn’t really appear so when you compare the first month of tax filing season to the most recent statistics released by the government.

It's a different type of post-Easter treat savings! Treat yourself to a new  professional development opportunity.  Available only until April 15. . . when you enrol in a Designation program. We've also waived instalment fees on our EZ-Pay plan.

Canadians can start to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) this week and there are some new details to be aware of.  Here’s how it will work: