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:

With only a couple of weeks left to go until the 2024 Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors at the St. James Club in Montreal, November 10 – 12 Knowledge Bureau would like to recognize the contributions our partner organizations bringing their thought leadership to Montreal. We are pleased to be welcoming back AGA Benefit Solutions as a Bronze sponsor and invite you visit their booth in the exhibitor area.

It’s the time to celebrate our innovative risk takers:  the Canadian Entrepreneurs! Small Business week is Oct 20-26!  And what a ride it has been! The economy and business environment has changed significantly for small business owners and now too, they are changing the environment as they transition in the workforce. But tax rules bring audit risk to new entrepreneurs as well as transitioning business owners.  In short, there are plenty of demographic, economic and tax triggers that will help you open new conversations during Small Business and beyond in Canada.  You may also wish to introduce to them    the DMA™ Small Business Management Program, at a special rate, available only until the end of the month.

In 2013, author and commentator Mark Milke penned a book which ought to have been on every bookshelf in this country. It was titled “Tax Me, I’m Canadian.”  While some of the provisions of the Tax Act in that edition may no longer apply, it is still very much worth the read. Milke lays bare the many and varied ways our governments take our money away from us. (Yes. It is our money, not theirs).  Now, another new tax regime is being contemplated: a tax on privately owned, vacant land and the reasons may surprise you. You may wish to let your clients know about this.

In Canada and other western democracies, we operate under the rule of law.  But what does that mean and why does it matter when it comes to the work tax and financial advisors do and the contractual arrangements they have, including letters of engagement?  The answer is both simple and profound:  the rule of law may be one of the most important requirements for the creation of wealth. For these reasons, Knowledge Bureau has created the certificate course:  Understanding Employment and Business Contracts.

With the feasts of Thanksgiving behind us in Canada, we begin the fall with gratitude for so much, not the least of which is that we live in a peaceful democracy.  Notably there is a connection between that and the Nobel Prize for economic sciences, awarded on Thanksgiving Day this year.  It recognized three laureates for their research into why some countries are rich and some are poor.  Their conclusions could have implications for the advice tax and financial advisors give as well. 

Knowledge Bureau is pleased to announce that Onelife Wealth Management has been honored as the Marquis Firm of the Year and will receive this special award at the Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors, on November 10 at the St. James Club in Montreal. In this interview with Knowledge Bureau President Evelyn Jacks, advisor Christ Valentine, MFA, DMA, MFA-P, RWM, one of the 26 members in the firm, discusses why this award is especially meaningful.