Commis­sioner and chief executive of the Canadian Revenue Agency reminds us in a story in the Financial Post that there are no random audits in Canada. If your tax return is selected for audit, the CRA has identified some aspect of your return, be it a deduction claimed or an industry that it is focusing […]

More →

Sometimes people wonder why the legis­lation surrounding various taxes is so complex, given the relatively straight-forward nature of those taxes. The Tax Foundation provides a telling example in a recent post about the defin­ition of a cigarette: Cigarettes are taxed in New Mexico, as every­where else, and at a pretty hefty rate. As the tax […]

More →

The Tax Foundation’s Ten principles of sound tax policy are a must-read for those influ­encing tax policy. I think the list can be further refined down to about half that, but maybe they wanted to get an even ten. For instance, maintaining the neutrality of the system (#2) will result in broad bases (#3). It’s when […]

More →

The Canadian government released a mini-budget this past week that featured serious tax cuts. The GST goes down another point to 5% and the lowest bracket of personal tax is lowered back down to 15%. Corporate taxes continued their downward trajectory. The CICA focused first on the reduction to corporate taxes: “The government’s commitment to […]

More →

Continuing the new post series where I answer readers’ questions they’ve Googled to find my site, as logged by 103bees.com, the next one is sent chills down my spine: “How to read the Income Tax Act?” The last time I cracked open the Act, it was probably tax class in university. Once you’re done those classes, […]

More →