CRA Data Breeches Put Taxpayer Information at Risk

An important deadline is coming up, around the same time that Canadians get ready to file their 2026 tax returns at the start of tax season 2027. Since 2020, more than 42,000 data breaches have occurred at the CRA. A class action lawsuit was launched in 2020 and a $8.76 million settlement was reached.  Eligible Canadians affected by these security incidents can now submit claims through the KPMG Claims Portal until February 3, 2027.  

Will Bank of Canada Interest rate setting impact your holiday euphoria? Bank of Canada’s Steven Poloz announced today that the overnight rate would remain at 1.75%.

In the holiday spirit yet? This news might dampen it: on Friday November 30, Statistics Canada released a report on GDP, income and expenditure for the third quarter of 2018. The big news? In 2018, Canadians have had the worst household savings rate on an annual basis since 2005, averaging only 1.4% over the past year. For the third quarter of this year, the household savings rate was a mere 0.8%; the lowest quarterly level since early in 2017.

On the heels of recent criticisms by the Auditor General, Knowledge Bureau Report readers weighed in on CRA service levels and they were conclusive: 87% of last month’s poll respondents say that the CRA needs to work harder. They cited a myriad of issues from 32-week wait times for a T1 Adjustment to the need to correct CRA’s errors, some of them big. 

One-third of parents of millennials say that their children are a financial strain that could ultimately take a toll on their own retirement. That’s the ongoing challenge that the boomers face. When it comes to managing their money, this generation needs to nudge their millennials towards financial independence or place their own retirement plans at risk.

In the height of charitable giving season, a review of recent tax changes provides an opportunity for advisors and clients to plan more strategically, while maximizing tax savings and planning 2019 investments before year-end. Here’s a checklist of talking points for your December meetings:

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have proposed restrictions on fees related to referral arrangements. The Independent Financial Brokers of Canada (IFB) wants to better understand the impacts of these proposals and has asked for the participation of financial services professionals in a survey, which is open to both IFB members and others in the financial services industry.