July 30, 2018
by
Bob Boser
On July 18, 2017 the Federal Finance Minister announced proposals to change the tax rules related to income splitting using private corporations. The original proposals were subsequently withdrawn in October, re-released in December and after further changes the proposed legislation was included in Bill C-74 in March 2018. Bill C-74 received Royal Assent on June 21, 2018 and the new tax on split income (TOSI) rules are now in effect as of the beginning of 2018.
July 11, 2018
by
Chris Russell
There are numerous components that go into valuing the assets of an active business. In simplified terms, those components can be characterized as the value of normalized discretionary cash flow plus redundant assets. In this article, we will be discussing two of the more common redundant assets that business owners frequently do not realize exist within their organization.
March 14, 2018
by
Martha MacRae, Todd King
From a taxation perspective, the period from July 2017 to February 2018 has been one of the most tumultuous in recent history for Canadian private company owners. For those who also have the privilege of being U.S. citizens or resident aliens, things have gotten downright ludicrous. In a rush to pass into law the most sweeping tax reform in a generation, U.S. lawmakers have stuck U.S. citizens resident in Canada with retroactive, double taxation, the elimination of much of the tax deferral previously available in their companies, a looming April 17th payment deadline and virtually no rules or regulations to guide them through the chaos.
December 19, 2017
by
Guy Desmarais
The Department of Finance released its long-awaited proposed amendments to the tax on split income (TOSI) rules on December 13. The release completes a tumultuous year for small business owners, tax professionals, Department of Finance officials, Members of Parliament and the Minister of Finance. The initial July 18 proposals and the short consultation period precipitated a groundswell of consternation and frustration.
December 14, 2017
by
Heather Forbes
On December 13, 2017, Amendments to the Income Tax Act and Regulations and Explanatory Notes to simplify measures to restrict income sprinkling were released by Finance Canada. Today’s Tax Flash will focus on the changes to the July 18 proposals, exclusions, reasonableness test and a brief update on the status of the proposed measures related to passive investments.
September 13, 2017
by
Stephen Rupnarain
An earlier version 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.
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.
September 13, 2017
by
Betsy Qin, Sameer Noormohamed
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.
May 11, 2017
by
Stephen Rupnarain
This information is current to May 11, 2017. Please refer here for an updated version of this Tax Flash.
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.
February 27, 2017
The CRA announced in the December issue of the “Businesses – Tax information newsletter” the kickoff of a new campaign to send GST/HST compliance letters to GST/HST registrants. Through this campaign, the CRA hopes to assist taxpayers in gaining a better understanding of their GST/HST compliance requirements. Accordingly, the targets of this campaign are expected to be individuals and small businesses.
July 28, 2016
by
Daryl Hooley
In Budget 2016, the Department of Finance announced changes to simplify the special reporting requirements for home builders, with taxable sales of new or substantially renovated housing that are “grandparented” under the transitional Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rules (i.e. when a province joins the HST or increases the provincial component of the HST).
November 25, 2014
by
Diana De Jong
The nil consideration election found in section 156 of the Excise Tax Act (ETA), sometimes referred to as the related party election, has recently been updated with changes to be in effect January 1, 2015.
October 23, 2014
by
Rosa Maria Iuliano
The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) was introduced in Ontario on July 1, 2010, bringing about changes for many businesses. Most notably, it introduced a requirement that “large businesses” be required to repay or “recapture” the portion of any available input tax credits (ITCs) attributable to the provincial portion of the HST that becomes payable, or is paid without having become payable, in respect of a specified property or service that is acquired.
October 23, 2014
by
Cathie Brogan
We continue to see Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) auditors aggressively challenge GST/HST registrants with the documentary requirements under subsection 169(4) of the Excise Tax Act (ETA).
August 7, 2014
by
Shelley Snoddy
Provinces have legislation that allows for the creation of not-for-profit entities to collect fees from owners of certain real property to pay expenses for the upkeep and maintenance of the property. These entities are often known as condominium corporations. The issue then arises as to whether or not GST/HST applies to the fees being charged.
April 29, 2014
by
Sameer D. Noormohamed
This article provides information about the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The VDP encourages taxpayers to come forward voluntarily to declare information that may not have been previously reported. It may be used to divulge unreported or underreported financial information. Use of this provision provides defense against penalty and prosecution.
April 29, 2014
by
Brent D. Sawadsky
Revenue is a good thing; we are always looking for ways to increase it. But in the GST/HST world, dividend and interest revenue can reduce income in addition to causing huge compliance costs and issues. This can come as an unwelcome surprise to many taxpayers.
March 5, 2014
Today, no one seems to doubt the existence of tax havens. But tax hell... does it exist? Based on the testimony of taxpayers and tax practitioners, one might wonder. Reports of abuse and misconduct by the tax authorities seem increasingly common.
February 11, 2014
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today tabled Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2014, a budget which confirms that the Government is on track to return to balanced budgets in 2015, with new measures that will create jobs and opportunities in an uncertain global economy and no new taxes on Canadian families or businesses.
February 3, 2014
by
Sameer Noormohamed
This article is to shed light on the age-old question – are the services I am providing to a non-resident exempt from tax or not? As is true of most questions relating to sales tax implications, there is no clear-cut answer. To answer this question, you need to contemplate several other questions first.
February 3, 2014
On January 24, 2014, the Department of Finance released draft legislation to provide a GST/HST exemption for public hospitals providing parking primarily for the use of their patients and visitors, effective immediately. The government stated: “Hospitals are encouraged to pass on the savings.” It will remain to be seen if hospitals do pass these savings on to the public.
