Investigative Tax Prep:  Top Ten Changes to Probe

Tax season 2025 has started with a focus on the increased income levels some taxpayers may report due to proposed changes in capital gains tax laws.  But aside from this there are new questions to probe with clients to ensure the family’s tax returns are filed to their very best benefit, given change in their life and financial events as well.  Here are top 10 queries to add to your interview checklist:

Economic uncertainty, war, inflation, rising interest rates, market volatility and looming tax change – all have led to significant financial triggers to keep Real Wealth Managers on their toes. How can one person ensure that their client's holistic wealth plan is maximizing Real Wealth (sustainable inter-generational wealth after taxes, fees and inflation) when so many triggers occur at once?

Keep an eye on your email for your VIP access to enrol in Canada’s most-up-to-date income tax course…coming soon from Knowledge Bureau. This is a great course on personal taxation if you are new to the business as well as a solid refresher for experienced professional tax accountants. Learn the fundamentals of T1 income tax preparation and planning in this course as well as what has changed and what is coming for the next tax year. Today, we’re giving you a sneak peek...

Provincial Budget Season continues, and while the Yukon Territories had no new income tax measures to announce on March 2, Manitoba made a seismic shift, introducing significant personal tax cuts in their March 7 budget. Specifically, the Basic Personal Amount increased 38% to match the federal amount of $15,000 in 2023. If passed, the budget will bring inflation-fighting relief to Manitobans who will see reduced withholding taxes starting July 1. Further, tax brackets will move up 27.5% in the lowest tax bracket and 25.5% in the middle tax bracket in 2024.  Details below:

In the financial industry in Canada, we are fortunate to see an increasing number of women joining the industry, relative to other sectors, where the women and men are starting their careers at parity. However, men have historically been the beneficiaries of more career promotions, rising to the top faster than women, despite studies showing that women leaders create higher employee retention, increased engagement, and productivity within organizations.  There may be several reasons for this dilemma, including:

After eight consecutive rate hikes, the Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 4.5% on March 8, as the Canadian economy appears to be on track for an inflation rate near 3% by the summer. That’s really good news for worried borrowers, in particular small business owners, who, according a CFIB survey, continue to be burdened by rising costs of running their businesses. A key issue this month for those with a side hustle is the cash flow crunch fueled by tax debt. Tax professionals can be important advocates.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8th is #EmbraceEquity.  It is an attempt to address the fact that Equality is not the same as Equity.  Especially for women.  Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.