tax planning

A letter arrives from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). You are being audited. Panic ensues as you wonder what you did wrong and why the CRA is targeting you. 'There must be bigger fish to fry,' you might say to yourself.

The first thing you need to do is relax and take a few deep breaths. If you have a qualified tax advisor on your team, you have nothing to worry about. If you don't, now is a good time to contact a professional tax planner to review your returns and assist you with the audit.

Do you know the real rate of return on your investments? Generally, Canadians measure the success of their investments based only on the rate of return. While it provides a good snapshot of whether an investment is doing well or not, it is not the only criterion for a true picture of success. A good portfolio is based not only on the return, but also by the tax implications of the investments.

Similar to the situation of individual Canadians, small business owners must deal with a variety of financial challenges in order to grow their businesses. Besides managing issues like cash flow and assets, small businesses must also think about taxes on income.

Without a doubt, tax return filing can be an intimidating experience for many business owners, but the process can be greatly simplified simply by keeping good financial records.

It doesn't take long after receiving your first paycheck to realize that all of your money is not your own. The Canadian government is an active partner in your earnings, and the more money you make, the larger it takes.

A better understanding of taxes and how they apply to you can result in hundreds of dollars of savings back into your pocket each year.

With a few weeks to go before the year-end, you may wish to think about some moves you can take now to save you some taxes for 2016.

Along with the usual advice to do any tax loss selling before December 23rd on any equity investments to offset any capital gains earned in other investments during 2016, there are a few new tax planning strategies that you can take advantage of.

The recent Federal Budget included measures to close a favorable tax rule for investors in investment accounts or through corporations, trusts and holding companies, who have proposed rules to curb the tax advantages of “corporate class” mutual fund shares.

“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone.” - Frederic Bastiat

By the time that you read this article, it is very likely that the Federal elections will soon be over. When all the back slapping, hand wringing and hyper-analysis is done, the new political regime will be faced with one inescapable challenge.

One out of every three workers is covered by a registered pension plan (RPP). That’s over 6 million people. Like all hard-working Canadians, they are looking forward to a satisfying retirement. Nothing helps create a pleasant experience in your golden years like a steady stream of income every month.