GENERAL INFORMATION POSTS

2018 Federal Budget Commentary

March 2, 2018

On February 27, 2018 the Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, presented the 2018 Federal Budget, Equality + Growth: A Strong Middle Class, to the House of Commons.
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Alberta Employment Standards Changes Effective 

January 1, 2018

The Alberta Government came out with significant changes to employment standards that take effect January 1, 2018. Continue reading to learn more about the significant changes being introduced.
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Changes to the Reporting of the Principal Residence Exemption

Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Changes to the Reporting of the Principal Residence Exemption and How This Affects All Residential Real Estate Sales for the 2016 Year One of the greatest tax saving incentives offered by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is the principal residence exemption (PRE). The basics behind this exemption is tha...
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Alberta Carbon Levy

Thursday, December 15, 2016
Alberta Carbon Levy Starting January 1, 2017 a carbon levy will be included in the price of all fuels that emit greenhouse gases when combusted at a rate of $20/tonne in 2017 and $30/tonne in 2018. These include transportation and heating fuels such as diesel, gasoline, natural gas and propane. Ce...
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U.S. Tax Issues for Both Canadian and U.S. Citizens - Part 2

Monday, August 22, 2016

Canadian Residents or “Snowbirds”: The term snowbirds is used to describe Canadians who spend a fair amount of time in the U.S. usually to vacation and escape our winters. The number of days you spend in the U.S. will have an impact on the determination of your residency for tax purposes. The U.S. ...
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U.S. Tax Issues for both Canadian and U.S. Citizens - PART 1

Thursday, July 14, 2016
U.S. Tax Issues for both Canadian and U.S. Citizens: The tax implications involved in cross-border activities are complex and can apply to many situations that face both Canadian and U.S. citizens. Each individual’s personal scenario will be unique when dealing with either business, employment, ret...
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Year End Preparation

Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Year End Preparation What do we need and why? A copy of bookkeeping records whether it be manual synoptic, Sage Simply Accounting, Quickbooks etc. All bank statements for the year and reconciliation reports Asset listings Receipts for purchases of depreciable assets greater than $5...
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Proposed changes to the Small Business Deduction from the recent Budget

Monday, June 13, 2016

Proposed changes to the Small Business Deduction from the recent budget:
What is the Small Business Deduction “SBD”? The Small Business Deduction provides a reduced rate of tax on the first $500,000 of active business income for any Canadian Controlled Private Corporation “CCPC” in Canada.  What ch...
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Employee or Self-Employed Worker

Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Employee or self-employed worker? It is important to decide whether a worker is an employee or a self-employed individual. Employment status affects a person’s entitlement to employment insurance (EI) benefits while also having an impact on how a worker is treated under other legislation such as th...
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Proposed Liberal and Implemented NDP Tax Policy Implications

Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Rates 1. Personal Tax a) Federal: The Liberals have proposed that they will cut the income tax rate for middle class Canadians, and increase the marginal rate on higher earning income individuals. The following rates highlighted in yellow represent the only changes to the personal federal tax ...
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Changes Affecting your GST/HST Return

Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Changes affecting your GST/HST return Unique access code As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce red tape for businesses and simplify its electronic services, starting October 19, 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will provide all GST/HST registrants with a new and unique access code on the...
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CRA Telephone and Email Scams

Wednesday, September 02, 2015
Telephone and Email Scams: Over the last few months, we have had clients who have received phone calls and/or emails “supposedly” from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). The “supposed” CRA agent is requesting additional information, such as social insurance numbers, credit card or bank account numb...
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