In the 2023 Fall Economic Statement tabled yesterday, the federal government was keen to boast about maintaining its ‘fiscal anchor’—the budget guardrails that seek to limit spending and deficits. Yet its recent policy commitments suggest otherwise. With debt-servicing costs skyrocketing, the fiscal picture is anything but pleasant. While the 2023 Fall Economic Statement is light […]
The federal government has made an eleventh-hour announcement to extend the deadline to file Underused Housing Tax returns. Ottawa today announced that homeowners who are required to file a return under the new Underused Housing Tax for the 2022 calendar year will now have until April 30th, 2024, to comply without facing additional penalties or […]
The federal government announced late last week that it is once again extending the repayment deadline for outstanding Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans. Organizations with outstanding balances will now have until January 18, 2024 (extended from December 31st, 2023), to repay their loans and still qualify for partial loan forgiveness. Ottawa last extended the CEBA […]
The Canada Revenue Agency prescribed rate will remain unchanged at 5 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2023 (for the period from October 1st through December 31st). After increasing steadily in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate has remained static for several consecutive quarters. The prescribed rate is based on the three-month […]
The Canada Revenue Agency has announced that the prescribed rate for the third quarter of 2023 will hold steady for the first time in a year. The prescribed rate hovered at 1 per cent throughout most of the COVID-19 pandemic, then increased by a percentage point each quarter beginning in the third quarter of 2022. […]
The confusion swirling around the implementation and scope of the federal government’s new Underused Housing Tax has resulted in a temporary reprieve from Ottawa, providing taxpayers with extra time to fully understand their compliance obligations under the new law. The Canada Revenue Agency announced this week that the while the deadline for affected owners to […]
The 2023 federal budget was widely projected to be one of balance and reaction: specifically, it would walk a tightrope aimed at keeping inflation under control and preparing for a potential economic downturn ahead. It would respond to the Biden Administration’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act by offering competitive green innovation and business incentives, all to keep […]
Compared to the 2022 edition, the 2023 Ontario budget is relatively restrained in its spending commitments. That’s due in large part to what various members of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government have been eager to signal in the lead-up to budget day: that we’re living in a period of economic uncertainty. Queen’s Park is pulling in […]
The federal government’s new Underused Housing Tax came into effect on January 1st, 2022. It introduced a 1 per cent annual tax on the ‘specified value’ of a vacant or ‘underused’ residential property owned in whole or in part by non-resident, non-Canadian citizens. Despite the legislation’s many exemptions, it is very broad and ensnares several […]
SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENTS Whenever a private corporation has shareholders from more than one family (and sometimes even within the same family), shareholder agreements should be considered. A typical situation is where two or three individuals go into business together, and incorporate their business, with each one owning an equal or unequal number of shares of […]