Tax & Business News
Trips, tips and traps
May 2017
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Links For May
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Forward this email to a friend!
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Kudos to Canada Revenue Agency for hosting a robust web presence that survived the avalanche of filings that typically occurs during the last few days of tax season.
This is the first year that I recall not having to contact the efile help desk. We also had the opportunity to use the Auto-fill function to populate the return with the information residing on CRA websites such as T-slips, RRSP receipts and T5008 slips alerting to the disposition of securities.
The risk however, is that complete information cannot be assured by CRA and there is risk that downloaded slips are incomplete.
As such, comparison with prior years and first-hand knowledge of investment returns is still required. Automation has not yet replaced the experienced eye of a seasoned professional.
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| Calendar of Important Dates |
Corporations with a February year end, claiming the small business deduction must pay the balance of tax owing by the end of May.
Corporations with a March year end, not claiming the small business deduction must pay the balance of tax owing by the end of May.
November year ends are due for filing at the end of May
May 14 - Mother's Day
May 22 - Victoria Day
May 27 - PC Leadership Vote
Next Issue - June 12, 2017
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ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION UPDATE
July 1 is approaching...
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Significant changes are scheduled for implementation on July 1, 2017 for Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. Effective that date, private right of action will be in force and potential damages for non-compliant businesses can reach $1,000,000 per day!.
The Canadian Marketing Association has prepared a lecture on this matter which can be accessed here.
As of July 1, individuals will be able to sue your business if you are not CASL compliant. Compliance companies have emerged to service the market of businesses to insure they are in compliance with the legislation.
Take the CASL quiz and see where you stand.
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CREDIT CARD WARS
Which have the best rewards...
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Credit cards come in many flavours, each one attempting to induce the consumer by tempting rewards for travel, cash, lower fees etc.
The cards are categorized into six divisions:
- Travel rewards
- Travel points - with fee
- Travel points - no fee
- Hybrid Travel - with fee
- Top airline
- Top hotel
Top choice from both
How to Save Money and the
Calgarian is the American Express Gold Rewards Card where you can accumulate $881 in rewards with an annual spend of $25,000 and no fee for the first year.
Click the links above for a complete review.
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PARKING PASSES
Taxable benefit?...
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An April 2017 Tax Court ruling established that a parking pass is a taxable benefit if, on the balance of probabilities, the taxpayer is the primary beneficiary as apposed to the employer.
In this particular case, the taxpayer was a flight attendant for Air Canada and was granted a parking pass for Calgary airport. The taxpayer's hours of employment varied and public transportation was not always available.
The court analysis was very detailed and specific but concluded that the taxpayer was the main beneficiary of the parking pass, not his employer.
An interesting read - click
here.
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PASSWORDS
Running out of words...
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After forgetting a password for the umpteenth time for a particular website subscription, I researched some alternatives after being unable to conceive of a password that matched the criteria of this site, namely:
- can't contain your name
- can't have been used before
- must have a number
- must have a special character
- must have a capital
The thought of having to remember a password that matched the requirements led me to explore other options.
One option that caught my attention was 1Password. The risk that your favourite password being uncovered and exploited was enough to sign up for the 30-day free trial.
Watch the video below and judge for yourself if this option makes sense for you. There are many competing products to choose from, but this makes a compelling case.
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Recent CRA Decisions
There is no escape from tax...
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TRADERS BEWARE!
Business income - Whether gains from sale of securities on income or capital account - Gains realized by the taxpayer on the sale of securities during the 2009 taxation year were assessed by the Minister as business income. The taxpayer disputed that assessment, claiming that the gains realized were capital gains.
His appeal to the Tax Court of Canada was dismissed.
The Tax Court held that it was required to assess the intention of the taxpayer at the time the securities were acquired, and that such intention was to be ascertained from the taxpayer's whole course of conduct.
The Court rejected the taxpayer's evidence with respect his investment intentions in dealing with the securities in question, and held that his primary intention was to sell the shares as soon as possible.
It concluded that the taxpayer was trading in the securities as a business activity, or at least was buying and selling the securities as part of an adventure in the nature of trade. The gains made were properly characterized by the Minister as being on income account
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| Disclaimer |
 The preceding information is for educational purposes only. As it is impossible to include all situations, circumstances and exceptions in a commentary such as this, a further review should be done. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this commentary. However, because of the nature of the subject, no person or firm involved in the distribution or preparation of this commentary accepts any liability for its contents or use.
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NEW NEWS
All you need to know...
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| Life in the Tax Lane - April 2017 (Episode 23) |
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Sincerely,
Howard Render, CPA*CA
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