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?

This week, Canada’s finance ministers met in Vancouver and agreed in principle to the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) over a seven-year phase-in period, starting January 1, 2019. Higher contributions by workers and their employers will result. But will the revamped CPP be enough to provide for the retirement security Canadians need?

The Underground Economy grew 3.8% between 2012 and 2013, but is considered “stable”  based on CRA’s June 20th revised estimate report for the period 1992-2013.  Still, it’s growing at the same rate as the GDP – 2.45% - and is estimated to be close to $46 Billion in size.  So who is skirting their tax obligations?

The month of June was a bad one for tax practitioners who have perpetrated fraud. Tax evasion can attract fines of up to 200% of the taxes avoided plus other administrative penalties, including gross negligence (50% of taxes owing) and late filing (up to 10% of unpaid amounts).

The changes to the CPP agreed upon this week by eight of Canada’s Finance Ministers (Quebec and Manitoba have not yet agreed), will help Canadians contemplate how much is enough for their retirement. To answer this question, it is important to first reflect on longevity statistics in Canada and, second, on the amount of money required for adequate income in retirement.

We love sharing feedback from our recent graduates. This week we feature the success of Mrs. Delores Moskal from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, who recently graduated from the Business Valuation for Advisors course.

Knowledge Bureau is pleased to announce that Craig Dowden, the top-rated speaker at DAC 2015, will speak at this year’s Distinguished Advisor Conference, Nov. 6-9 in San Diego. Early registration is now open until June 30. An outstanding agenda of 18 illustrious speakers has now been released.