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 received dozens of thoughtful, well-crafted comments to our August poll on the proposals to tax passive investment income inside a small business corporation at top personal rates. But this “Letter to the Government” submitted by Brad is a must-read.

Did you know that dentistry, pharmacy, medicine and law are the professions with the highest undergraduate tuition fees in Canada, ranging from $10,000 to $18,000 per year? The average tuition fee for all faculties is just under $6,000 a year. With this in mind, most families could find it challenging to fund their family’s lifelong educational needs. The Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) can help.

About 32 per cent of workers are starting their own businesses on the side for a variety of reasons — including 25 per cent of those who earn more than $75,000 and 19 per cent of those with income over $100,000. For tax purposes, it’s critical to know the difference between someone who is employed and someone who is considered self-employed.

As a financial advisor, you rely on technology to do your job effectively, but it’s also a disruptor in the industry these days. Robo-advisors are a force to be reckoned with, offering automated services that provide low-cost advice. Are they turning financial advice into a commodity? Will you be priced out of the market? How can you compete with robo-advisors?

“Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.” —W. Edwards Deming

As a society, we have become over-confident that we can do anything, whether or not we have the skills and knowledge to, because of the wealth of information that’s available at our fingertips. Unfortunately, in the era of fake news, it becomes challenging to discern fact from fiction.