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.

Jan Sawchuk, of Peachland, B.C., on the Basic Bookkeeping for Small Businesses course

With the looming Oct. 2 deadline for commentary on proposed tax changes to private corporations, the business community is renewing its call for the federal government to scrap the proposals in favour of a comprehensive tax policy review.

More than 65 per cent of Canada’s 14 million households contributed to at least one registered savings account (RPP, RRSP or TFSA) in 2015, according to recently released Statistics Canada data from the 2016 Census.

Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) Canadians age 55 or older — and 14 per cent of those 65 or older — participated in the labour force last year, the highest participation rates among older Canadians since the collection of comparable Statistics Canada data began in 1976. But who exactly are these stalwart workers, and at what age are they retiring?

Costs incurred to attend a conference may be a deductible business expense. The cost of the tuition for the conference may also be deductible or be eligible for a non-refundable tax credit.

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.” —Georg Christoph Lichtenberg