Podcast: Automatic Tax Filing - Will It Work?

Last week Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau  tabled his annual report:  In Pursuit of Better Service: Taxpayers Deserve More.  once again, it was nothing short of scathing, as CRA received its highest number of complaints in the last three years.  Calling our “completely nuts” Income Tax Act a potential barrier, he is nonetheless pushing for automatic tax filing as a potential solution.  A new episode of Real Tax News with Evelyn Jacks & Friends available next week, will feature guest Gillian Petit, Ph.D. - author of a great report, Welcome News for Lower-Income Canadians, but There’s More to Do - which takes a deeper dive.  Consider the following:

Knowledge Bureau’s DMA Accounting Services Specialist program (Knowledge Bureau - World Class Financial Education) is a comprehensive designation program designed to provide strong competencies for people who work in accounting departments and tax offices.

“This course provides an extensive knowledge about the use of trust in tax and estate planning and is to be recommended as part of a background for a tax professional. It clearly spelled out the structure, advantages and disadvantages of each type of trust. The study cases give a valuable insight into handling a variety of situations where the establishment of a trust is warranted." 

Please join Evelyn Jacks and guest Faculty members for a virtual mini-summit February 26 for an in depth Tax School for tax and financial professionals. 

Subscribe to KBR to get our Real Tax News You Can Use Special Report! In This Edition: February 14, 2025 More Bad News on the Canada Carbon Rebate Anti-Flippers Beware: CRA Fines are Exorbitant What Residential Property Owners Need to be Audit-Proof

The GST holiday which  began in December comes to an end on February 15th and the fallout for consumers and businesses could linger for longer than the two month exemption itself.  Announced by the Prime Minister and then Finance Minister on November 21st, the end of the break will mean Canadians must once again pay more for common children’s items in particular.  Further, businesses will gain incur costs to reprogram point-of-sales and accounting systems. 

Canadian homeowners may not yet have caught up with the new rules around anti-flipping when they buy and sell their principal residences.  CRA has not only tightened the reporting rules, but now can deny the tax exempt treatment if the personal residence is not held for 365 consecutive days.  Some exceptions do apply.  So let’s take a look at the rules that should be discussed with all home owners and potential home owners: