Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

Despite the fact that the cost of living seems to be increasing in the grocery story and when paying for transportation and costly medication, Old Age Security benefits will remain unchanged for the April to June 2025 quarter. While increases to OAS over the past year have been 2% from April 2024 to April 2025, the cost of living has increased more, as explained more fully below.  You’ll also be interested in the prescribed interest rates applied to tax refunds and balances due, adjusted quarterly:

Finance Minister Eric Girard tabled his 7th budget on March 25th. This is the most detailed, comprehensive and far-reaching budget we’ve seen from any of the provinces thus far. This budget focuses heavily on spending, producing a record deficit. It also reflects the Quebec government’s preoccupation with U.S. tariffs. The word “tariff” is mentioned no fewer than 161 times in this document.

We might be distracted by the political, tax and economic shocks dominating the daily news.  But from an investment point of view, advisors may be missing something important. The very definition of “wealth maximization” as we have commonly known it, is not resonating there is a reason why:  “business as usual” has eroded value and requires a shake up to build the economy we need in the future.  The answer, for some, is “impact investing”, and there has never been a better time to consider this.

Where are the Happy Landings in this new Era of Risk and Reward?  That will be the focus of the 2025 Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors November 23-26 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.   It may in fact, be the most important conference you attend this year.  Canada’s only multi-disciplinary gathering, appropriately in Mexico, will bring thought leaders together to ponder our New Era of Risk and Reward.

The news can be jarring for your clients. In these volatile times, tax accounting and financial advisors do important work, together. A special shout-out goes out today to our highly educated, skilled and experienced certificate and designation holders working hard to help their clients make sense of events that trigger financial decision-making, especially to the RWMs™.  Here’s why. 

Canadians are now into a federal election campaign and tax reductions of all kinds are on the agenda. Prime Minister Mark Carney has already reduced one of the greatest obstacles for the Liberal Party to gain re-election: the consumer carbon taxes as of April 1, 2025. Technically it is being reduced to zero, as without an act of Parliament he cannot eliminate the tax. However, the regulations behind the tax are under the purview of the Finance Minister, and on closer look, we can get a real glimpse of what’s to come should the Liberals win the election.