Many, if not most, producers defer income into January as part of their regular tax planning. However, in a year like this, where many producers were flooded out, they can end up declaring nearly two years of income in one year without having the corresponding crop input expenses to offset the income. This is how […] Read more
Stories by Larry Roche
Phishing fun — but don’t be the big one that gets caught
MONEY IN YOUR POCKET With all due respect to that wonderful pot roast-like substitute for good food that soldiers in the field have endured since the First World War, spam on your computer is not a good thing. It generally relates to download dumps of data and unsolicited advertising that clog your e-mail in-basket with […] Read more
Tax implications vary for flood aid
The terrible costs being exacted across Western Canada by rising flood waters have been well documented. Millions of dollars are being allocated to compensate for personal and business damage and for thousands of acres of land permanently lost to farming. Mounting infrastructure replacement and repairs will also sap additional untold millions from federal, provincial and […] Read more
Heed year end deadlines to avoid tax hits, program penalties
Certain benefits will disappear if you don’t act before their rapidly approaching Dec. 31 deadlines. This includes AgriStability/AgriInvest forms for the 2009 program year. Although the deadline to submit the forms without penalty was Sept. 30 (June 30 for Ontario participants), there is one last chance to submit the forms for the 2009 program year, […] Read more
Tax rules for partnerships different than for corporations
Partnerships are distinctly different from corporations. Unlike corporations, they don’t have a separate and distinct legal identity from their participating shareholders and they are not taxed as if they are separate persons. All of a partnership’s income and losses are distributed to its partners, who are then responsible for reporting their share of the partnership’s […] Read more
Revenue agency audits its success in catching cheats
The Canada Revenue Agency has been a busy little beaver when it comes to rooting out taxpayers who are not up-to-date in paying their tax bills or who are trying to avoid the tax man altogether. The folks at CRA use a variety of tools and methods to identify noncompliance and take action to address […] Read more
New system will slash time tracking business vehicle use
Most businesspeople are frustrated by the amount of documentation required to keep track of business expense deductions and tax claims for motor vehicles. It appears that frustration has been noted because the federal government has introduced a new short form that simplifies how vehicle use is tracked to establish business use. The change could reduce […] Read more
Courts asked to clarify farm status of race horse venture
Betting on horse racing has always been a game of risk and chance. According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), it is equally risky, at least from a tax perspective, if you own racing horses or train and ride them. Two court cases prove the point. In one case, a lawyer bought, sold and raced […] Read more
Growing gov’t increases burden on Canadians’ shoulders
fbc@fbc.caThe general belief is that the public demands more services from government, which in turn leads to bigger governments that need more tax revenues to pay for the services.So it’s all our fault, right? Not so fast.While we rarely hear of governments cutting or reorganizing less needed programs to live within their means, we continually […] Read more
Use your tax refund wisely to get the best return for money
The federal government predicts that the average tax refund will be almost $1,500 this year. What you do with your riches apparently depends on your gender and where you live. According to a study conducted for Scotiabank, a typical Canadian uses one-third of the refund to pay down debt while another third will go into […] Read more
