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?

Cannabis is already on the mind of tax and financial advisors due to its inclusion in Budget 2018 and its pending legalization and accompanying taxation. But that isn’t all you should be thinking about, as it triggers an essential and controversial leadership discussion – what’s tolerable in the workplace?

Do you have clients who travelled to another city for medical care in 2017, but failed to keep receipts?  It pays to do a little research to maximize their claims. In fact, they don’t need to miss out on the medical expense savings, if you use the simplified method to file.  Here are the rules:

For many Canadians filing a tax return is the most important financial transaction of the year. Getting the best tax refund is important: not only will it put more of the money you previously earned back in your own pocket, your refund can make at least some of your cash flow and retirement worries go away. Here’s how:

Use them before you lose them! That’s the message for parents and post-secondary education students filing 2017 tax returns who are looking for provincial tuition fee rebate programs to reduce student expenses. This is especially so, since the federal education and textbook credits have been cancelled. But the tuition rebate programs are diminishing, too.

In Part 3 of this series on deductible investment expenses, we discuss costs that are not deductible – a mystery and a surprise to some taxpayers during a tax audit. Here’s more essential information to keep you out of hot water.

In the accounting and finance industry, a lot has changed since the 1950s. Today this field is of particular appeal to women, as they now make up a widening majority (58 Percent) of its workforce. Earnings for women have also doubled, making this an excellent career choice.