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?

We salute the outstanding achievements of Siegfried Merten, Master Financial Advisor (MFA), who has been recognized internationally for his work in the avoidance of double taxation for retired Canadians.

February promises to go out like a lion with yesterday’s announcement that the 2018 budget will be unveiled on February 27, 2018. It’s interesting timing. Other important milestones: CRA starts processing 2017 tax returns on February 26, the T4/T5 tax slip deadline is on February 28 and the RRSP filing deadline is March 1.

Love this tax tip: all income sources are not taxable. Here’s my top 10 favorite “dark horses” – exempt amounts most people don’t know about.

Filing a tax return is the first, and often most important, financial transaction of the year for millions of Canadians. What’s different in 2018? For starters, the government is hanging on to early filers’ refunds longer than ever. With last year’s average tax refund clocking in at just over $1,735, that’s a big deposit that cash-strapped Canadians don’t have for their RRSP or TFSA deposit.

The verdict is out on non-compliant taxpayers: 87% of Knowledge Bureau readers gave a big thumbs down on putting themselves at risk by tolerating bad behaviors by taxpayers. Given the changes to the Voluntary Disclosures Program, starting March 1, 2018, so has the CRA.

What is the future of human work when robos are coming on so strongly?  Studies show that lifelong learning is essential for personal and professional development and in fact, that university students need to be ready to “re-skill” the moment they graduate. This from The Future of Jobs report, published by the World Economic Forum.