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.

We love sharing feedback from our recent graduates. This week we feature the success of Donald Bieber from Sherwood Park, Alberta, who recently graduated from the Tax Planning for Corporate Owner/Managers course.

Are you providing an evidence-based and unbiased determination of your clients’ risk profile? Unsure? Be sure to register for DAC 2016 to hear Shawn Brayman speak about why this is critically important.

It’s time for a little summertime R & R, so here’s how our publishing schedule will shake out: There will be no issue of KBR on July 6, 27, August 3 or 31. Enjoy the sunshine, because . . . Christmas is less than six months away!

"Find out who you are and be that person. That's what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come." Ellen DeGeneres

Did you incur legal fees in order to collect money owed to you for severance, pension benefits or a retiring allowance? You may claim those expenses as Other Deductions on the tax return. But there are a few catches.

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?