Posts

Auditor General’s report on CRA call centre issues should come as no surprise

If you’ve had reason to phone the Canada Revenue Agency of late, you may have experienced a long wait to speak to an agent—if anyone bothered to take your call. The anecdotal experiences of our accountants and clients has been confirmed in a new Auditor General’s report that sheds light on communication shortcomings at the […]

An ongoing business debate: Should I buy or lease my vehicle?

In more than 30 years of practice as a Chartered Accountant, one of the most common two questions I’ve been asked by clients is whether they should buy or lease a car, and whether they should buy personally or under their company name. Inevitably my answer has been, “It all depends.”  How long do you […]

Webinar–Canadian federal tax reform: How will it affect your business

When the Department of Finance released its proposed changes to the taxation of private corporations in Canada on July 18, 2017, entrepreneurs across the country immediately took issue with measures they felt would cause undue financial harm to their businesses. And for good reason. If passed, these proposals will have extensive implications for all private […]

Ontario offers small business owners a tax cut in fall economic statement

Small business owners in Ontario are getting a break on their taxes. This week Minister of Finance Charles Sousa delivered a fall economic statement that will lower the corporate small business income tax rate on the first $500,000 of business income to 3.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent, by January 1, 2018. The change […]

Federal government compromises, eases proposed tax changes for corporations

After several weeks of insistent rhetoric from Ottawa, entrepreneurs across Canada finally received some good news when the federal government began rolling back proposed tax changes for corporations. Although there is still a lack of detail, at least on the surface, there appears to be some compromise. However, there are still some troubling proposals on […]

CRA proposes major changes to Voluntary Disclosure Program

A new Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) directive is about to make it much harder for entrepreneurs to correct legitimate tax errors without significant repercussions. The CRA recently proposed changes to the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP), an initiative that allows taxpayers to correct mistakes or oversights on their Canadian tax returns, or make new submissions, for […]

Sorry Mr. Morneau, Canadian entrepreneurs are not tax cheats

As Finance Minister Bill Morneau wrapped up his cross-country ‘listening tour’ to gauge Canadians’ reaction to proposed federal tax changes this week, it would have been easy to confuse the minister’s message. He has made it clear the federal government is determined to promote greater fairness across the tax system, levelling the playing field for […]

7 common tax mistakes small business owners should avoid

Canadian entrepreneurs are some of the best in the world when it comes to starting, managing and growing their small to medium-sized businesses. But most have little or no accounting experience, particularly in the start-up years when their energy is focused on making their company a success. All too often this results in avoidable–and potentially […]

2017 Federal Budget Commentary

The Federal Government’s 2017–18 Budget gives Canadians a taste of what they might expect over the next couple of years: attempted efficiencies, closed tax loopholes, steady deficits, and a touch of caution. Budget 2017 outlines only $200 million in net new spending, but also an increase to the deficit of more than $5 billion for […]

Foreign investors: 4 things to know before investing in Canada

Political instability, tumbling currency values, economic uncertainty—they’re common reasons why high net-worth foreign investors often try to extract funds from their home countries and search for financial refuge elsewhere. Many look to Canada as that safe-haven. Why? Put simply, our $1.6 trillion economy is one of the largest and most stable in the world. The […]