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?

Leading with integrity is essential for business success, but just how do up-and-coming leaders do so with integrity and accountability on a day-to-day basis in a very busy world? Please join our Executive Business Builders Network to chime in on the issues our Joanne Sigurdson, author of Knowledge Bureau’s Business Leadership, Culture, and Continuity Course, is challenging our LinkedIn discussion group with:

It’s time to talk about the 2018 tax changes and how they affect planning before the end of 2018. Knowledge Bureau’s Evelyn Jacks will be a keynote speaker at IFB’s 2018 Winnipeg Regional Event on May 16, 2018 and on the CE Summit tour May 29 to June 16, 2018.

In introducing a new carbon tax on September 1, 2018, the Manitoba provincial government is planning to return at least some of it back to taxpayers by way of personal and business tax cuts, while it grapples with debt servicing costs that have exceeded a billion dollars for the first time. 

March 13 and 14 are important days in Canadian financial history as both the RRSP and Old Age Security Benefit celebrate their birthdays.

CRA started processing refunds later than in the past this year, on February 26.  We asked Knowledge Bureau Report readers what they thought of that, given that refunds would now be delayed into March.  The good news is that the CRA does seem to be abiding by the ten-business-day turnaround promised.

Are you a small-business owner thinking about hiring a highly qualified bookkeeper? Or perhaps you are thinking about expanding your own skills and credentials to handle your own financial matters better in house? Getting your business affairs and tax information in order is very important as CRA is clamping down with increased audit activities these days.