News Room

Podcast: Automatic Tax Filing - Will It Work?

Last week Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau  tabled his annual report:  In Pursuit of Better Service: Taxpayers Deserve More.  once again, it was nothing short of scathing, as CRA received its highest number of complaints in the last three years.  Calling our “completely nuts” Income Tax Act a potential barrier, he is nonetheless pushing for automatic tax filing as a potential solution.  A new episode of Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks & Friends available next week, will feature guest Gillian Petit, Ph.D. - author of a great report, Welcome News for Lower-Income Canadians, but There’s More to Do - which takes a deeper dive.  Consider the following:

Year-End Tax Tips for Employees

Year-end tax planning is about minimizing taxes for 2019 and setting clients up to save more tax-efficiently in 2020 and beyond. There are several big things to talk about if your client is an employee looking to save some tax dollars, and are potentially a new homeowner as well.

Last Call to Register: Fall CE Summits

Last chance to register for year-end tax planning workshops, The Fall CE Summits. We’ll touch on the financial implications of this month’s election and its impact on year-end tax planning together with the important go-forward planning opportunity for corporate owner-managers and retirees.

Clarification of German Pension Recipients Letter from Neubrandenburg

Canadians who receive German pensions may have seen some new items on the yearly letter from Neubrandenburg.  Siegfried Merten, MFA™, has provided us with clarification on this letter and what pensioners need to do to remain in compliance. Advisors can be of great assistance here.

Graduate in the News – Meezan Shariff

Meezan Shariff is a student at Knowledge Bureau currently working toward her DFA – Bookkeeping Services Specialist™. Recently, we had a chance to ask her a few questions about how she felt about the courses she’s completed, what they did for her, and her overall experience. Friendly and upbeat, she was more than happy to give us a few minutes of her time.

It’s a Minority Liberal Government – What Can We Expect?

With a Liberal Party minority forming government after this week’s election, the big question on the minds of many taxpayers is, are taxes going to rise and, if so, for whom? This important milestone opens new opportunities for advisors’ discussions on year-end tax planning and important topics like investment, retirement and succession planning.To help you navigate through what’s to come, based on the Liberal election platform, this Knowledge Bureau Special Report runs through some of the more significant provisions announced in the Liberal Election Platform, as costed by Parliamentary Budget Office.

The Proposed New BPA: It’s Complicated

The new government has pledged changes to the Basic Personal Amount (BPA), but in doing so, has introduced significant complexity into the calculations, especially for higher-income earners. These changes are scheduled to begin in 2020 and targets taxpayers with incomes below $150,605 and $214,557 as explained below:
 
 
 
Knowledge Bureau Poll Question

According to CRA, Canadians experience improved service delivery and responsiveness from the CRA this tax season. Do you agree?

  • Yes
    7 votes
    7.78%
  • No
    83 votes
    92.22%