CRA’s Callback Service for Tax Pros Pilot

Are you a tax professional with years of experience? Have you ever felt frustrated after calling the CRA, having spent hours on hold, wasting your client’s or employer’s time, only to speak to CRA agents who aren’t qualified to answer your questions? The Auditor General of Canada was equally displeased in a scathing report last fall on wait times and accuracy levels at the CRA. Now a new CRA callback service may come to the rescue this tax season. Here is my experience with the pilot project so far:

Technology has made the obvious possible: In most cases, the CRA already knows what your income is, because they have a copy of your information slips from employers and financial institutions. Now, starting in 2016, for the 2015 tax filing year, CRA is introducing the “Auto-fill my return” function.

Death is never timely, yet it comes to at least one per cent of the population each year. Advisors need to be able to help their clients minimize the income tax consequences before the event occurs. 

What does it take to be a Top Gun in the financial services? To be amongst the most highly regarded in your industry, you must exhibit the characteristics and skills reserved for the elite: exceptional academic achievements, outstanding personal leadership and teamwork abilities and most of all, a stronger drive than others to be at the top of your field.

“No one’s happiness but my own is in my power to achieve or to destroy.” - Ayn Rand

Neufeld v. Dafoe BCSC 2016. The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently varied the Will of a deceased person to provide funds to a plaintiff, who insisted she was his common law partner. The facts were quite unusual: the plaintiff’s marriage ended after she was taken hostage by her husband during a police stand-off in which he was killed.

It’s February and that means it’s officially tax season. If you are going to tackle filing your tax return yourself this year—and every Canadian should try to grasp this life skill at least once—you will want to know more about the basic elements of the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Return.