Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for supporting charitable causes, through donations of both money and goods. Our tax system supports that generosity by providing a tax credit for qualifying donations made.
Newsletter Archives - Page 23 of 29 - Akler Browning LLP
The Canadian tax system is a “self-assessing system” which relies heavily on the voluntary co-operation of taxpayers. Canadians are expected (in fact, in most cases, required), to complete and file a tax return each spring, reporting income from all sources, calculating the amount of tax owed and remitting that amount to the federal government by a specified deadline.
One of the more unexpected effects of the current pandemic has been the impact on the Canadian real estate market. In each of July, August, and September 2020 the number of home sales, especially in major cities, has set a year-over-year record and, in many of the same places, the vacancy rate for rental accommodation has gone up.
Since the pandemic began early in 2020, and especially after many non-essential businesses were required to close temporarily as a public health measure, the federal government has brought forward a broad range of financial relief programs for both individuals and businesses.
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues.
The year 2020 has been one of significant personal and economic dislocation for Canadians. The ongoing pandemic and the resulting impact to everyone’s way of life has led many to reassess their current circumstances and, often, to make changes. For older Canadians, one of those changes is likely to be consideration of whether it makes sense to accelerate retirement plans.
Each year, the due date for payment of all income tax amounts owed for the previous year falls on April 30. In 2020, however, that payment deadline has been something of a moving target. Earlier this year, the federal government, in recognition of the financial disruption and hardship caused by the pandemic, extended the payment deadline by four months, to September 1, 2020.
Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic, the real estate market in most of Canada continues to thrive and home prices continue to rise. Some of that may be attributable to the fact that, while prices are rising, the cost of financing a home purchase is near historic lows.
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There are, however, some circumstances in which an RRSP contribution must be (or should be) made by December 31, in order to achieve the desired tax result.
When the Canada Pension Plan was introduced in 1965, it was a relatively simple retirement savings model. Working Canadians started making contributions to the CPP when they turned 18 years of age and continued making those contributions throughout their working life.