Podcast: Automatic Tax Filing - Will It Work?

Last week Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau  tabled his annual report:  In Pursuit of Better Service: Taxpayers Deserve More.  once again, it was nothing short of scathing, as CRA received its highest number of complaints in the last three years.  Calling our “completely nuts” Income Tax Act a potential barrier, he is nonetheless pushing for automatic tax filing as a potential solution.  A new episode of Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks & Friends available next week will feature guest Gillian Petit, Ph.D., author of a great report, Welcome News for Lower-Income Canadians, but There’s More to Do, takes a deeper dive.  Consider the following:

Do you or your clients use PayPal for business transactions? Did you report them on your tax return?  If not, you’ll want to correct those errors or omissions quickly under the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP), because you are in the sights of the CRA.  A federal court ordered PayPal to disclose information about all business account holders who received or sent a payment between January 1, 2014, and November 10, 2017.

As of October 17, 2017 new mortgage rules were introduced that could change the way Canadians approach debt management. Advisors, we’ve prepared this resource to share with your clients so they understand how mortgages play a significant role in debt management strategies.

If you owe money to the CRA, but you can’t pay, what is the best course of action? For example, if you or your clients use Paypal for business and were not previously reporting this income on your tax returns, the new CRA requirements may leave you in a position where you have to pay taxes you weren’t anticipating.

Next year’s Distinguished Advisor Conference (being held in Quebec City, Nov. 11-14, 2018) will explore how the work of tax and financial advisors fits into a changing demographic landscape under the theme “The Changing Face of Community: Collaboration with Impact.” Registrations for delegates and speaker sponsors are now open, and we are asking for your input on the topics you’d like to explore more closely at the event.

November is financial literacy month, and it’s the perfect time to take advantage of educational opportunities before Knowledge Bureau’s December 15 registration deadline for Designation Programs.

The Ontario government released an economic statement on November 14 that reduces the small business tax rate, provides incentives for businesses with under 100 employees to hire 15 to 29 year olds and together with federal tax changes, significantly raises the marginal tax rates on passive income earned within a small business corporation upon distribution to individual shareholders.