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.

Advanced 2020 Personal Tax Update - Join Canadian tax expert Evelyn Jacks and special guest instructors from across Canada who will update you on the latest personal tax changes on the tax forms and dig deep behind the lines so you can find every tax deduction and credit available to the families you do tax returns for. Train your new seasonal and returning staff and save money by booking a whole table. This popular event sells out every year so enrol early.

Last year, tax season began on February 19. Tax season has been starting later, leaving less time to file your clients’ returns; but that does leave more time to shore up your education. Now is the time to ensure your team is up-to-speed and ready to prepare audit-proof, tax-efficient returns that save your clients money.

Once you’ve done your year-end planning for 2019, it’s important to know what your tax situation for 2020 will look like. Indexation of tax brackets and personal amounts are based on the Consumer Price Index for September, while prescribed interest rates are based on the average rate for three-month Treasury Bills for October. Although the CRA won’t announce the exact figures until later in November, here’s what to expect the new tax numbers to look like based on a federal indexing factor of 1.9%

It’s an issue that is still controversial. In 2017, legislation was passed introducing new tax on split income (TOSI) rules in effect for 2018.* It’s legislation that many tax and financial advisors who participated in our October poll would like to see rolled back to old rules. Others have specific changes they believe would be more effective and beneficial to small businesses in Canada.

Sales and promotional expenses can be claimed by employees who are required to travel for work and paid on commission, employed in the selling of property or negotiating contracts, or if they are required to pay their own expenses. But when it comes to tax deductibility there’s a big catch. 

Spectra Financial is currently looking to fill the position of licensed financial representative. Read on for more details on this opportunity.