A Challenge for New Clients: How to Choose a Trusted Advisor

If you’re in business for yourself, you have a unique opportunity to build wealth in an asset class that others don’t have: equity in a business enterprise that some day may be sold for millions of dollars. In addition, that business can spin off income for family members that can provide significant tax advantages, done well. Understanding how to realize on this asset requires the help of a trusted financial advisory team. Who should be on that team and how do you find them? This is a challenge your next new business clients may wrestle with. Here are some tips on how you can open discussions to help them:

Tax treaties between nations serve an important purpose: They ensure that the taxpayer is not left in the lurch when multiple countries each want to tax the same income. Canada currently has 92 tax treaties in effect with other countries, to protect taxpayers from over-taxation. Most recently, on January 15, Canada and Taipei signed an Arrangement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, based on standards developed by the OECD for the exchange of tax information.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Keeley Simpson of Rorabeck Wealth Advisory Group, BMO Nesbitt Burns, and Brandon Silbermann, a financial advisor at Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc and Don Stockman Financial Services Ltd, were awarded prestigious plaques in commemoration of their selection as the two inaugural winners of the Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) Young Advisors Award.

Knowledge Bureau has just wrapped up another successful Distinguished Advisor Workshop (DAW) tour, the annual Advanced Personal Tax Update. If you were unable to attend, Knowledge Bureau has a few options for you to update, train staff and get your CE Credits.

Want a real tax challenge? Take the T1 Professional Tax Preparation – Advanced for more complex case studies and tax theory that tests and refreshes your knowledge. The true-to-life simulations help you identify changes in your tax software, too.

How big will your tax refund be?