Canada has more than 170,000 charitable and not-for-profit organizations, 85,000 of which are registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). For these registered charities, their supply of property and services is often exempt from GST/HST. Charities that also make taxable supplies of property and services are required to collect GST/HST on those supplies where they are GST/HST registrants (i.e. not small suppliers or small suppliers that have chosen to voluntarily register for GST/HST purposes).

On September 27, 2017 the Republican Party released their long anticipated proposal for U.S. tax reform. The key takeaways of the framework have been summarized below. Please contact your local Collins Barrow U.S. tax advisory professional if you have any questions and to find out how these proposals may impact you and your U.S. or cross-border business.

From an investment perspective, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make sense for many Canadians. They allow them to reduce investment risk by diversifying their holdings through exposure to multiple industries and sectors of the economy, without the need to hold many individual stocks and bonds.   

U.S. persons (U.S. citizens or green card holders) living in Canada or abroad who have investments outside the U.S. should be aware of the potentially onerous tax filing requirements imposed by the IRS, and how those rules will apply to their investments. IRS rules can be particularly complex when investments in foreign companies or funds earning passive income are involved. This article expands upon the discussion in the companion piece, “<a href="ustaxalert-1-u.s.-tax-pain-canadian-mutual-funds-and-etfs" target="_blank">U.S. tax pain: Canadian mutual funds and ETFs</a>,” in this <em>U.S. Tax Alert</em>. This article digs deeper into the intricacies of the definitions and the filing requirements for PFICs and CFCs.

In its Consultation Paper and draft legislation released July 18, 2017, the Department of Finance proposes to restrict the lifetime capital gains exemption (LCGE). The Department of Finance indicates that the current tax rules do not properly prevent the multiplication of the LCGE. In many cases, the exemption of each individual family member is used to shelter gains on a family business.  

On July 18, 2017, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau proposed comprehensive changes to the taxation of private corporations, based on concerns that private corporations “give unfair tax advantages to certain – often high-income – individuals.” While these proposed amendments will affect all private corporations, several of the proposals will have a significant impact on tax planning for family farm corporations (FFCs) and on inter-generational transfers of farm property (e.g. land, shares of FFCs or an interest in a family farm partnership).

We keep hearing in the news and in professional publications that everyone needs to use data analytics. It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. So why should businesses consider using data analytics? The reason is simple: data analytics presents many new opportunities to improve efficiency, gain actionable information on customers and add value to financial reporting. Analytics can have many positive effects on your organization, including those highlighted below.

With farmland values on the rise in Canada, many farmers are contemplating selling some or all of the land used in their farming businesses. Farmland sales may have GST/HST implications depending on such factors as the nature of the purchaser and the intended use of the land subsequent to sale. 

When running a farm business, it’s important to have foresight. If you don’t plan for the future, you are not going to end up where you want to be. 

<em>An <a href="/en/cbn/publications/taxflash-budget-2017-update-relief-for-contingency-fee-engagements" target="_blank">earlier version</a> of this Tax Flash was originally published on May 11, 2017. The following version has been amended to reflect important updates as of Sept. 8, 2017. </em> As proposed in the March 22, 2017 budget, every professional must include year-end work-in-progress (WIP) into taxable income effective for taxation years beginning after March 21, 2017. WIP for professionals typically represents unbilled professional time and cost incurred in the rendering of services to clients. This is often captured in the form of a professional’s “charge-out” rate, which represents their cost, overhead and some profit component.

The Department of Finance’s September 8, 2017 release of draft GST/HST legislation introduces the newly defined “investment limited partnership” and a series of legislative amendments that will apply to such partnerships. The Department of Finance is accepting comments on the draft legislative proposals until October 10, 2017.