Updated–The great entrepreneurial debate: whether to buy or lease a company vehicle

As Chartered Professional Accountants, the most common two questions we’re asked by clients is whether they should buy or lease a car, and whether they should buy personally or under their company name. Inevitably our answer has been, “It all depends.”  How long do you plan to hold on to the car?  Do you have […]

Chinese authorities step up personal income tax enforcement

As Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig linger in detention in China, Canadian entrepreneurs would be excused for being more than a little anxious about doing business in the Middle Kingdom due to the current geopolitical tensions between our two countries. You’ll recall that the Sino-Canadian clash first emerged with the detention of Huawei Technologies […]

Ontario budget 2019: Key highlights

With the first budget of its majority mandate, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government delivered a moderated strategy for achieving budgetary balance, while largely maintaining—and in the case of education and health care, even increasing—current program spending levels. In the months leading up to the budget, the government had already delivered on several campaign promises that […]

SNC-Lavalin and the sometimes murky ethics of doing business abroad

If the federal Liberals’ SNC-Lavalin scandal has taught us anything, it’s that doing business overseas—particularly in developing countries—isn’t always as simple and straightforward as it is in Canada. As you likely know, the SNC-Lavalin matter erupted into a national scandal when officials in the Prime Minister’s Office—and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself—were accused of pushing […]

Changes to Quebec Sales Tax rules put collection onus on digital service providers

If doing business in Quebec was already tricky for companies residing outside of La Belle Province, it’s now become even more complex thanks to important amendments to provincial tax legislation. Many organizations would be forgiven for missing changes to the Act Respecting the Quebec Sales Tax, which took effect on January 1, 2019. The amendments […]

Tax efficient ways to make a difference this holiday season

This is the most wonderful time of the year—not to mention the season of giving. That’s why many organizations and individuals are taking the opportunity to give back to their community or their favourite charities over the festive season. Recently, the trend is for organizations to involve their employees and create team events where everyone […]

CRA employs aggressive new laws designed to catch terrorists in crackdown on tax evaders

The days of the Canada Revenue Agency taking a kinder, gentler approach to its relations with taxpaying business owners are long gone. From employing sophisticated algorithms to tightening rules around its own Voluntary Disclosure Program, Ottawa has become accustomed to using increasingly aggressive tactics to collect overdue taxes and punish alleged tax cheats. In some […]

Interest rates are rising. It’s time to shock-proof your balance sheet

It’s no surprise that debt-carrying entrepreneurs have been on edge of late. They’ve watched interest rates climb steadily over the past 18 months, pushing well past the historic lows that became normalized in the soft recovery that followed the Great Recession of 2008-09. Indeed, the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark rate several times over […]

What’s the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?

In recent weeks we saw the publication of a landmark investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump’s business dealings surrounding the sweeping real estate empire built by family patriarch Fred Trump, all the way up to the present-day management of the business under Trump scions Donald Jr. and Eric. Indeed, the venerable New York Times declared […]

Why business owners should think twice before shredding old tax records

There are a few questions that chartered accountants get asked all the time. They include (but are in no way limited to): What’s the key to growing a successful business? What’s the most tax-efficient way to draw profits from a corporation? Should I lease or buy my company car? What’s the minimum amount of time […]