Red Ink on the Prairies

A day after Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard brought down a Budget featuring a $6.3 Billion deficit, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled his government’s budget on March 19. Next up was Finance Minister Adrian Salas, who tabled the Manitoba Budget on March 24. The common thread: there’s lots of red ink on the Prairies. But that’s where the budget documents differ between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s the latest tax news and why it matters to the advice you give your clients.

The June 15 tax filing deadline for proprietorships is just around the corner.  But, there’s another problem soon to befall delinquent taxpayers:  the tax collector is coming if you haven’t paid up, and you can expect a “no excuses” approach.

Significant gains in transfer payments combined with good market income growth translated into an increase in median income for Canadian households, to $57,000 in the period 2000 to 2016. There is a message in the numbers for pre-retirees, and in particular women: be proactive about tax-efficient investing now or risk poverty in retirement.

The transformation of the CPP, new income splitting rules for family business and more are changing the retirement planning game, and a new study shows that clients find the most value when their tax or financial advisors make retirement-related services a priority.

Understanding CPP changes is something Canadians continue to struggle with. Here is some history, and key guidelines to share with your clients and guide you in leading them towards tax-efficient income planning decisions in 2018 and beyond.

Now that it’s May, a whole new tax season – 2018 - has begun! It’s prime time to “spring into studies” and enhance your career with knowledge and skills in personal tax consultancy.  Why?  Artificial intelligence and software solutions can’t replace the true value of specialized advice.

Small businesses in Canada are responsible for employing 8.2 million Canadians, which is 70.5 percent of the total labour force.1 Recent tax changes impacting small-business owners require broader, deeper tax knowledge for accurate, audit-proof returns. It’s time to brush up on audit-proof tax filing skills now in advance of the June 15 final filing deadline.