Newsletter

  One Comment About Taxation – An “Empty Rooms” Tax in Australia? Taxation Powers Deployed by Government Need Much More Careful Thought   Governments around the world struggle with basic financial mathematics. In other words, many spend much more than they receive. Unlike individual households who cannot continue to run cash deficits indefinitely – since…

  One Comment About Taxation – It’s Time For Canada to Reconsider Having Fixed Budget Release Dates   It has been 497 days since Canada last had a federal budget. That is unacceptable. Budgets are the primary tool by which governments seek Parliament’s approval for taxation and spending. Yet Canadians have been left in the…

  One Comment About Taxation – It’s Time to Codify How Proposed Tax Legislation is Administered Before it Becomes Law   In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of issues regarding the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s administrative policy that enables them to administer proposed tax law retroactive to the proposed effective date.  The most egregious…

  One Comment About Taxation – The Importance of Proper Estate Planning   There are numerous estimates predicting that within the next 10-20 years, the transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to the next generation – mainly to Millennials or Generation X – will be in the range of $1 -$2 trillion in Canada.  The…

  One Comment About Taxation – Should Canada Follow the New U.S. Law That Exempts a Portion of “Tips” Income From Taxation?   Early on in my career, I started going out for lunches and dinners with key contacts and clients.  Of course, as I learned earlier in my life, providing gratuity (“tips”) for good service was customary.  I…

  One Comment About Taxation – How Does Canada’s Taxation System on Death Compare to Other Regimes Around the World?  Does it Need a Re-Think?   In 1789, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, famously wrote in a letter, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death…

  One Comment About Taxation – Canada’s Personal Tax Rates Are Too High and Are Discriminatory to Families   Last week, Jamie Golombek wrote a great article in the Financial Post about the progressivity of our personal income tax.  In short, the article discussed the fact that many provinces in Canada have combined federal – provincial personal income tax rates at the highest…

  One Comment About Taxation – The Canada Revenue Agency Needs to Reduce Its Bloat and Work to Restore Public Trust   Over the years, the number of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audits on taxpayers has increased.  There’s nothing wrong with that, the CRA has an important job to do to administer our country’s complex…

  One Comment About Taxation – The Departure of Successful Canadians is Real….and Canada Needs to Do Something About It   More and more successful Canadians are continuing to leave Canada.  Many tax practitioners have been aware of this phenomenon for years.  For example, in the first 23 years of my career, I worked on approximately a…

  One Comment About Taxation – So How Is All of Canada’s Eye Watering Spending Going to Be Paid For?  New Taxes?   The amount of federal spending that PM Carney has committed to last month is, frankly, eye watering.  The boosts to our country’s defense budget – $9 billion – and NATO spending pledges – a…