Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." Helen Keller

Families may soon be out of monthly income due to the cancellation of the Universal Child Care Benefits in July.  It’s also time to review and optimize the Family Tax Cut provisions which are no longer available for the 2016 tax filing year. Tax and financial advisors can help.

Knowledge Bureau wishes to extend to all our fellow Canadians in the Fort McMurray and surrounding areas, our sincerest sympathies for your suffering as a result of last week’s devastating wild fires.  We pledge our support to all our students, graduates, designation holders and friends in the province, as we offer our thoughts of consolation and prayers to you.

Helping in helplessness . . . watching the heartbreaking devastation in Fort McMurray has been gut-wrenching. How one hour can change life so dramatically! Making donations from afar seems only right; and it feels especially good, given how terrible the events of the last week have been.

If you have a December 31st year end, the due date for making annual GST/HST remittances is April 30, even though proprietorships have until June 15 to file the T1 General Tax and Benefits return. So if you owe GST/HST now, be sure to make a payment immediately to avoid interest charges.

With tax season largely behind us, energetic business builders in the tax and financial services industries will be interested in pursuing their next great revenue growth opportunity immediately: tax-efficient retirement income planning.