In the past year alone, Canadians had to deal with several economic changes that has affected us all – from the oil & gas downturn, changes to lending and principal residence rules to the recent US elections.   As everyone knows, change is constant.  Therefore, what we can only do is to always be prepared.  Here are some tips on how to be prepared for economic changes: 1.    Do your due diligence.  Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more likely you will know exactly what to do when change comes.  Do research on everything you are involved in financially and...

Let’s take a break from tax talk today and talk about the glaring inequality we are faced with everywhere in the world. According to a Financial Post article, “Richest 1% are now wealthier than the rest of the world combined, Oxfam Says,” by Ben Hirschler and Noah Barkin, only 62 people (yes 62, 53 are men) are wealthier than the poorest half of the entire world population of 3.5 billion.  This had dramatically decreased from 388 people five years ago. These results came from a recent report from Oxfam, an anti-poverty charity organization.  Oxfam says that the wealth of the 62...

Ok, I know this is a little late, but who has time to vent when they actually have work to do? Not just work. I have been busier than a one-legged man at the proverbial butt kicking contest. “Right, personal taxes”. Why does everyone out there think that if you DON’T get a refund your accountant messed up? Why does everyone think that a tax refund is free money? Ok, sometimes if you don’t get a refund your accountant did screw up, but most of the time that is NOT the case. I am going to share some tidbits now for...

So I have written a few blogs that discuss receipts and documentation. In every one I have said, “never, never, ever send the CRA original documentation”. As an auditor I reviewed lots of documents, and never demanded originals. I would ask for originals if the copies were hard to read and relevant, but most of the time copies were more than adequate. Recently I have encountered CRA personnel who emphatically insist that I or my clients MUST provide original documents and that copies are not acceptable. So I perused the CRA website and the Income Tax Act looking for ammunition with...