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?

It’s amazing how many people rush through their tax filing obligations only to find they have missed important claims on their tax returns. One of the most common is medical expenses. Here is our top ten list of common medical treatments you may have missed.

“Investing is simple, but it isn’t easy.” I’ve heard Warren Buffett, the world’s undisputed champion of value investing, say words to this effect so often—most recently at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting that brought 40,000 of us (me for the 21st time) to Omaha, Nebraska (of all places), on the last Saturday in April of 2016.

A reality for retirement income planning specialists is that the difficult subject of “disability probability” must come up. But, the best time to discuss it with clients is when they are still healthy. According to Statistics Canada1  close to 4 million adults had a disability which limited daily living activities in 2012, or about 14% of Canada’s population.

As our population ages, disability-related caregiving for family members will increase, but, as a society, how well are we able to cope? From meal preparation and household chores to time off for appointments with doctors or to deal with financial matters, the commitment in caring for the sick, the disabled and dying is enormous and it is exhausting.

We love sharing feedback from our recent graduates. This week we feature the success of Mr. David Foth from Saskatoon, who recently graduated from the new T1 Professional Tax Preparation - Basic course.

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