The Importance of Provincial Budgets: Elbows Up and No Bracket Creep!

Some of the right things are happening in Nova Scotia, from the perspective of improving standards of living in that province.  And that’s important news because according to the Fraser Institute, Canadians have suffered the worst five-year decline in their standard of living over the 2020-to-2024 period since the Great Depression.  It notes, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person decreased by 2.0% (0.4% annually) ; this despite aggregate GDP growth of 1.5% over the period.  Further, all ten provinces are experiencing stagnation, which is unique in our history.  So what’s the good news in Nova Scotia, at this critical juncture?

Recently retired?  There are many new provisions on the tax return that could apply to couples  for the first time, so filing early and with qualified professional help can be important. How you treat private pension income and Old Age Security benefits, for example, can have many positive tax outcomes.

Marlene Donaldson from Port Elgin, Ontario recently completed the T1 Professional Tax Preparation – Advanced course and believe her goals were met in taking the course.

The 2015-2016 Knowledge Bureau Course Catalogue is now online.

This is the final instalment of a three-part series on Foreign Income Verification.

Last week in Part 1 of CPP - Now or Later, we discussed that one of the more difficult decisions for those approaching retirement is when to start receiving their CPP retirement pension.

According to an  article posted on the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) website, an Ottawa woman was recently sentenced to 30 days house arrest and ordered to pay a fine of $47,789 due to false statements made on her income tax return.