The Importance of Provincial Budgets: Elbows Up and No Bracket Creep!

Some of the right things are happening in Nova Scotia, from the perspective of improving standards of living in that province.  And that’s important news because according to the Fraser Institute, Canadians have suffered the worst five-year decline in their standard of living over the 2020-to-2024 period since the Great Depression.  It notes, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person decreased by 2.0% (0.4% annually) ; this despite aggregate GDP growth of 1.5% over the period.  Further, all ten provinces are experiencing stagnation, which is unique in our history.  So what’s the good news in Nova Scotia, at this critical juncture?

The financial influence of women in the Canadian economy is on the rise and professional tax and financial advisors need to pay attention to better understand how to best help, in the massive accumulation of wealth taking place, according to a March 2019 report by CIBC Capital Markets *.

This week’s Knowledge Bureau Report is dedicated to those often-missed and often-audited discretionary deductions and credits that both professionals and taxpayers will want to ensure they’re maximizing on to improve the size of tax refunds and/or reduce family tax bills. 

An often under-claimed and misunderstood tax deduction is the claim for babysitting or child care expenses. Make the claim on auxiliary tax form T778 and generally you will do so on the return of the spouse with the lowest net income. However, there are cases where the higher earner can make the claim. Here are the rules:

Taxpayers who moved in 2018 can take advantage of expense claims for lucrative tax breaks when filing their tax returns this year. However, there are some tricky rules that apply to eligible and ineligible moving expenses that must be considered in order to remain audit-proof with the CRA.

Medical expenses are among the most commonly overlooked tax provisions. Most people have out-of-pocket costs not covered by a medical plan, so It’s important to pay attention to to claim them, as they can be used to reduce taxes payable. Use this checklist of twelve often-missed allowable medical expenses to your benefit, or that of your clients.

The height of tax season is drawing close. Make a great decision and commit to your off-season education plan now. Train your staff for next year too. Making sure you mark early registration deadlines will save you money. Ask for group discounts when 2 or more enrol  Here are the key deadline dates: