Canada Needs a Financial Plan

According to a July 23 publication by the Fraser Institute, we are getting poorer here in Canada and the prospects for economic growth are looking grim.  This should be of concern to every Canadian concerned about their “real income” – that’s their purchasing power – and by extension - their ability to fund consumption now and for important family milestones in the future:  retirements, education and homeownership.  It’s grim, but there are practical suggestions for a turn around plan. Here’s a synopsis of the report.   

“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” Dale Carnegie

The Federal Budget is expected to be released in this fiscal quarter. Will taxes go up over the next five years? Finance Canada’s Fall Economic Update, released on November 1, 2016, provided an extensive analysis of near-term trends and private sector forecasts to give professional advisors good direction on the likelihood of tax increases in the period, and how inflation, interest rates, the dollar and the price of oil are expected to perform.

It’s really surprising how many people don’t know when the tax filing deadline is. CRA often mentions two dates: April 30 and June 15. Which is it for you? Unless you or your spouse are reporting income from an unincorporated small business, the answer will usually be April 30.  That’s not true this year, though.

New Year’s Resolutions often involve the purging of winter weight, weighty closets or weights on the mind, including the guilt of understating income or overstating expenses or credits on the tax return. 

Canadian taxpayers are a compliant lot: according to CRA, in 2012–13, 92% of Canadians filed their taxes on time and 95% paid their reported taxes in full. This is a remarkable record for a tax system based on self-assessment and voluntary compliance. Yet, there is another side to the story.

Precise tax knowledge counts:  accurate tax preparation is the goal of every professional tax specialist and it is a tremendous value add for financial advisors and their staff who will field hundreds of calls from their clients this tax season.