Changes to Paper Filing Disempowering

Last tax season, only 7% of all Canadian tax filers filed on paper. The CRA is pushing for zero. It continues to steer the holdouts to digitized filing by adding lots of obstacles. Most recently, it is removing almost all the schedules from the tax return package it mails. This seems unfair to people who paper file because they can’t afford a computer and internet, distrust the security of online filing and those who are neither tax or computer literate. Here’s what they are up against:

Evelyn Jacks, president of Knowledge Bureau, welcomed close to 200 attendees at the 2015 Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) on a high note. Her opening session at the 12th annual conference in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, was packed with information and opportunities for advisors to seize, particularly in light of the new Liberal government in Ottawa and the significant tax reforms their rise to power will usher in.

One of Canada’s foremost journalists and commentators on public policy shared his insights with attendees on the first day of the 2015 Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) in a thought-provoking session in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Jeffrey Simpson, national affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail, spoke in detail about the age of dis-intermediation and what that means for advisors.

Philip Petursson, Managing Director of Manulife Asset Management’s Portfolio Advisory Group, encouraged attendees at the 2015 Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) to think differently about portfolio management. He asserted that, in an attempt to serve clients and build value by customizing portfolios, advisors are following an approach that is actually inefficient and unproductive.

It’s hard to believe that back in 1980, Canadians’ debt to disposable income level was 66%; today it is 164%, which means that households today owe more than $1.64 for every dollar of disposable income. That’s a big problem if job loss is in the future and, therefore, should be a topic of conversation for those working in industries suffering downturns and in retirement planning conversations.

It’s official:  The Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC) will be held November 6-9, 2016 in San Diego, and Knowledge Bureau’s Annual January Personal Tax Bootcamp is set to begin January 20 to 25, 2016 across Canada.  Registrants are urged to reserve their spots early and take advantage of early bird tuition reductions until December 15, 2015.

Last week, Alberta’s new NDP government brought down their first provincial budget.