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.

Look for Catherine Bell under the big sombrero. The featured guest speaker at this year’s Distinguished Advisor Conference (DAC)  and author of the bestselling book, Empower Your Presence, is an expert on workplace protocol, etiquette, and professional image management, who understands the complexities of doing business in today’s competitive marketplace.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? Don’t know? Well, Knowledge Bureau has set dates for our fall and winter workshops as well as summer and fall online training dates.

If you have not already done so, this is an excellent time to contact your clients who are eligible for the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) to let them know about the increase in the benefit made effective in the April 21 federal budget, as well as the lump sum that may be coming their way on July 20, 2015.

When it comes to enhancing and updating your skills, there is never a downside to a refresher. That’s what Diane Elliott, who is four courses into her Distinguished Financial Advisor (DFA) – Tax Services Specialist, strongly believes.

More than one million small businesses in Canada contribute somewhere between 25% and 41% to Canada’s GDP. These small enterprises also account for almost 78% of all private jobs created in Canada and about 70% of the total labor force1.  This market is a sweet spot for advisors in the tax and financial services industry who are ready to provide education on recent tax changes and new planning opportunities.

Sometimes executors fail to execute the duties of their positions with sufficient attention or integrity. In Estate of Forbes McTavish Campbell, the BC Supreme Court removed one of three executors in a rare exercise of that power. The executor was also required to pay special costs of the proceeding- a higher amount of costs reserved for parties who act especially reprehensively.