Large Canadian farms often have multiple corporate structures, such as when parents and grown children and their families are farming together. This has allowed farmers to operate more efficiently and share costs, expenses and capital assets. However, the federal government is amending business tax rules that could affect farm business corporations. Although directed at business […] Read more
Ag Finance — page 2
Ag operations caught in crossfire of business tax changes
Protecting yourself from a lawsuit
You would never wish a lawsuit upon any business. The chance of being sued is likely rare, but the thought of it is stressful. I recently sat down with a farming couple to go over the risks they face outside of their operations. The conversation quickly turned to the farm facing a lawsuit. The question […] Read more
Assessing merits of corporate vs. personal land ownership
Producers who buy land often ask me whether they should purchase it personally or in a company. Professionals used to advise farmers to own their land personally, which made good sense. Owning land personally provides great flexibility when it comes to estate and succession planning and allows producers to use special tax rules such as […] Read more
Executor has important job when administering a will
The will is at the centre of estate planning. It determines how your estate will be carried out. But what happens after you die? What should an executor of an estate watch for? When you plan your estate, think about the role your executor will play to ensure the process is as smooth as possible. […] Read more
Factors to consider for income splitting on family farm
There is a tax advantage to splitting farm income among the members of a family. The more income you have, the higher tax rate you have to pay, so spreading income out among you, your spouse and even your children can have a huge tax benefit. It is fairly common for small business owners to […] Read more
Tax changes affect small business, shareholder loans
The new Liberal government’s first budget is 269 pages. That’s a lot thinner than in previous years, but there is no lack of tax changes. Here are some ways the budget could affect your farm. The former Conservative government had committed to reducing the federal small business tax rate to nine percent from 11 by […] Read more
Government programs help you save money
It’s often difficult for producers to save money outside of the farming operation. Farming requires intensive cash flow management techniques, especially if producers are trying to expand their operations. However, it can be important to try to be diversified and have savings for rainy days. Contributing to a Registered Education Savings Plan, Tax Free Savings […] Read more
Return on investment for farms about more than numbers
Everyone wants the best possible return on their investments. To achieve that, we first need to determine what the actual investment is that we want a return on. Next, we need to define the return we want and determine how we’re going to measure it. For a business, this is straight forward. Take the profit […] Read more
Beer culture reaches the farm
EDMONTON, Alta. — When Shane Groendahl goes to a party, he likes to slap down a growler of his Blindman Brewing beer and announce that it is what beer should taste like. It’s that passion for brewing beer, the taste of craft beer and the enthusiasm that has Albertans switching from drinking traditional beers to […] Read more
U.S. asks for arbitration on COOL damages
The United States has decided to ask the world trade organization for arbitration over the amount of damages Canada claims has been caused by mandatory country or origin labelling. Canada asked the WTO to impose retaliatory tariffs of more than $3 billion annually on key U.S. exports due to damages caused by COOL. “Canada is […] Read more
