This Month’s Poll

The automobile deduction limits raised — the CCA ceiling for passenger vehicles to $39,000 plus tax for 2026. In your opinion, is that high enough?

Tax changes to employee stock options were supposed to come into effect on January 1, 2020, and thanks to feedback collected from Canadian businesses in a consultation that ended in September, the implementation of these measures has now been delayed. Tax and compensation planning should take place before these new rules come into effect.

If you are a tax, bookkeeping or financial advisor looking to sharpen your technical tax knowledge to accurately prepare personal tax returns or provide sound financial planning advice this tax season, don’t miss Canada’s most comprehensive T1 Advanced Tax Update. Besides the comprehensive 330-page course, CE Summit attendees receive a three-month subscription to EverGreen Explanatory Notes, and a full day of peer-to-peer training with expert instructors.  It’s an outstanding value dedicated to enhancing your value proposition.

Join us in celebrating our 2019 graduates who completed their DFA-Tax Services Specialist™ and DFA-Bookkeeping Services Specialist™ designation programs. Knowledge Bureau is so proud of your achievements and we look forward to sharing knowledge with you in 2020.

It is estimated that about 425,000 Canadians will retire each year by 2020.*  But for many, it will be a retirement that includes debt, according to recent reports on the proliferation of reverse mortgages**.  Are Canadians planning soon enough for the one big question most worry about: will there be enough? A new edition of the best-seller Master Your Retirement by Douglas V. Nelson will help.

The tax system is not getting any easier for Canadians to comply with and things may get worse in tax season 2020. With a complicated new 8-page T1 return on the horizon, Canadian taxpayers already dissatisfied with their tax department service levels* join ranks with KBR poll respondents: over 90% of tax, bookkeeping and financial services pros answered a resounding no when asked: “As we begin a new decade, do you feel the evolution of our tax system has been positive?” Still, there were a few happy campers.

If you live in Manitoba, you’ll be getting tax relief from a number of post-election provisions that are noteworthy from a financial planning point of view. The removal of sales taxes on income tax preparation fees, home insurance, and the preparation of estate planning documents such as wills, health care directives and Powers of Attorney make an interesting case for having important financial planning conversations as a new decade begins. Probate fees will also be eliminated in July 2020.