SMES: Carbon Tax Rebates on the Way?

July 15 was an important day for carbon-tax weary taxpayers. A Canada Carbon Rebate payment was  made to individuals who have filed their 2023 personal tax returns.  What about the long-awaited $2.5 billion Carbon Tax Rebate For Small Businesses? The delivery date and amounts to be received remain elusive, but one thing is clear: many businesses will have disqualified themselves by missing the July 15 date for filing 2023 T2 returns.  Here’s what you need to know. 

There are 8 important topics and 6 incredibly interesting speakers lined up to provide you with critical education on the latest budget changes and tax, retirement and estate planning trends.  By signing up before Monday, you’ll also get a sneak peek at a brand-new learning experience with Knowledge Bureau, including a comprehensive online course to supplement the sessions. Check out the topics and speakers and enrol now.

Ready to increase your tax skillset for the 2023 tax season? The newly updated Personal Tax Course – Advanced Level from Knowledge Bureau will prepare you to dive deeper into the more complex tax scenarios you will want to do more confidently to enhance your professional service offerings next year.  It’s available now so you can start your Summer School – personally or for your staff – and as a KBR reader, we have a special tuition offer for you too.

The prescribed interest rate is set quarterly based on the average return rate for three-month treasury bills for the first month of the previous quarter, raised to the next highest whole percentage point.  For April, the average return rate for three-month treasury bills topped 1% so the prescribed rate is set to 2% for the July to September timeframe.

Did you know that generally speaking, interest is considered to be a capital expense and is not deductible against other income unless it meets specific requirements in the Income Tax Act? To be deductible, the use and purpose of the money must be established as interest costs – and therefore the amount of the deductions may rise, so expect increasing scrutiny by the CRA.  The following six rules will help tax specialists determine whether interest costs may be attacked by the CRA and keep meticulous notes on individual client files to trace the source of the borrowings.

A full 68% of professional advisors said a firm “no” to last month’s poll question when we asked, “is it a good idea for CRA to switch from paper to electronic Notices of Assessment in 2022, requiring tax filers to provide their email addresses?” Computer accessibility was a big reason for these responses, but so was concern over privacy and security. Here are some of the comments that accompany the concerns:

This month, seniors will see their OAS and GIS payments increase by one percent.  This increase marks the seventh consecutive increase in OAS payments.  The increase over the last year amounts to $30 per month for OAS recipients or just under 5%.