Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

Our June poll question was one of the most popular and controversial to date with our readers. 95% felt strongly that the CRA’s settlement with KPMG demonstrates a lack of fairness and equity within Canada’s tax system.

Stay ahead of your competition, re-think your business objectives more strategically, armed with new knowledge about economic forecasts, portfolio management, investment, retirement and tax in the personal, corporate, trust and cross-border space. DAC, and the great line-up of compelling speakers will show you how to get more customers and have stronger ties to your existing ones. This is your opportunity to be part of the pre-eminent conference for leaders in the financial services. Learn more about the speakers and partners who will inspire you on days 2 and 3 of DAC 2019.

As long as there are businesses, there will be a need for bookkeepers. According to the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)*, the outlook for employment opportunities for Bookkeepers over the next three years looks promising for those looking to join the industry or continue in it. Out of 13 provinces and territories, 8 have a “fair” outlook for employment opportunities, while Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, and the Yukon Territories all have “good” employment outlooks. Here are the top 10 reasons to consider a career in Bookkeeping:

As predicted by bond rates, the interest rate due on overdue taxes and the prescribed interest rate for non-arm’s length loans remains unchanged for the third quarter of 2019. However, these interest rates still have a significant impact on 2019 tax planning, particularly for those who want to avoid undue balances owing to the CRA. Knowledge Bureau’s Income Tax Estimator can help taxpayers and their tax pros employ tax-efficient strategies that reduce income tax owing that could be subject to interest.

Employee stock options can help companies attract and retain talented employees by providing a supplementary source of compensation that is linked to the future success of the company. Current tax rules provide a preferential personal income tax treatment in the form of a stock option deduction, which effectively tax stock option income like capital gains. But that’s about to change, and advisors working with HNW executives need to come up to speed.

There have been several new tax and economic developments on climate change this month. Statistics on the Climate Action Incentive (CAI) payments became available, Albertans repealed their provincial carbon levy and the Final Report from the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance was released.