1 - 8 - 0 - 0 - H - A - R - T

The following News Release or Speech has just been posted on the Finance Canada Site.

Ottawa, January 2 2009
2009-001

Ottawa (Ontario), January 2, 2009. The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture), and Mr. Peter Aceto, President and CEO of ING DIRECT Canada, today welcomed the availability of the new Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) introduced by the Government of Canada in the 2008 Budget.

“The Tax-Free Savings Account is the single most important personal savings vehicle since the introduction of the RRSP,” said Minister Flaherty. “It will give Canadians more flexibility than ever in saving for the future. Effective January 1, Canadians 18 years of age and older can set aside up to $5000 every year in a variety of savings options and never pay tax on the income earned or on withdrawals.”

More →

The following News Release or Speech has just been posted on the Finance Canada Site.

Ottawa, December 30, 2008
2008-114

The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced today that the automobile expense deduction limits and prescribed rates for the automobile operating expense benefit that applied in 2008 will apply in 2009. Specifically:

* The ceiling on the capital cost of passenger vehicles for capital cost allowance (CCA) purposes will remain at $30,000 (plus applicable federal and provincial sales taxes) for purchases after 2008. This ceiling restricts the cost of a vehicle on which CCA may be claimed for business purposes.
* The limit on deductible leasing costs will remain at $800 per month (plus applicable federal and provincial sales taxes) for leases entered into after 2008. This limit is one of two restrictions on the deduction of automobile lease payments. A separate restriction prorates deductible lease costs where the value of the vehicle exceeds the capital cost ceiling.
* The maximum allowable interest deduction for amounts borrowed to purchase an automobile will remain at $300 per month for loans related to vehicles acquired after 2008.
* The limit on the deduction of tax-exempt allowances paid by employers to employees using their personal vehicle for business purposes for 2009 will remain at 52 cents per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 46 cents for each additional kilometre. For the Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the tax-exempt allowance will remain at 56 cents for the first 5,000 kilometres driven and 50 cents for each additional kilometre.
* The general prescribed rate used to determine the taxable benefit relating to the personal portion of automobile operating expenses paid by employers for 2009 will remain at 24 cents per kilometre. For taxpayers employed principally in selling or leasing automobiles, the prescribed rate will remain at 21 cents per kilometre. The additional benefit of having an employer-provided vehicle available for personal use (i.e., the automobile standby charge) is calculated separately and is also included in the employee’s income.

More →

The following News Release or Speech has just been posted on the Finance Canada Site.

Backgrounder

	Measure	Effective Date	Details

More →

The following is now available on the CRA Web site: (in case you missed this earlier)

News release

Ottawa, Ontario, December 11, 2008… The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue, announced today that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will follow its longstanding practice by facilitating the use by taxpayers of tax measures proposed in the 2008 Economic and Fiscal Statement.

“In light of prorogation of Parliament, many seniors and financial institutions are seeking confirmation that they can act upon the government’s proposal in the 2008 Economic and Fiscal Statement to reduce the registered retirement income fund (RRIF) minimum withdrawal for 2008 by 25 per cent,” said Minister Blackburn. “Accordingly, I want to confirm today that the CRA will allow taxpayers to act upon this measure, which is included in a Notice of Ways and Means Motion tabled on November 28, 2008, in the House of Commons.”

More →

The following is now available on the CRA Web site:

Tax Alert

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is aware that electronic sales suppression software is currently being marketed and sold to Canadian businesses. Business owners are reminded that hiding income to evade taxes is against the law. Using this software is not worth the risk.

Electronic sales suppression software is designed to work with point-of-sale systems and electronic cash registers. Businesses use the software to delete a portion of sales from their computer records to evade payment of income and sales taxes. In some cases, restaurant owners who suppressed sales using this software have collected taxes from patrons and not remitted them to the CRA as required by law.

More →

The following is now available on the CRA Web site

Fact Sheet

Each year, certain personal income tax amounts are indexed to inflation using the Consumer Price Index data as reported by Statistics Canada.

Increases to tax bracket thresholds, amounts relating to non‑refundable credits, and most other amounts will take effect on January 1, 2009. However, increases to the Canada Child Tax Benefit (including the National Child Benefit Supplement and the Child Disability Benefit) and the goods and services tax credit will take effect on July 1, 2009, to coincide with the beginning of the program year for payment of these benefits.

More →

I will be giving you the generalized version, but here is the thing with Canada Revenue Agency and if you owe Income Taxes: Unless you make less than you did in the following year .. you are required to remit at least the amount you owed in the previous year - in advance - as instalments for the current and future taxation year. If you end up owing MORE taxes next year, than you did last year .. you are only required to remit up to the amount you owed last year. If you end up owing LESS taxes next year, than you did last year .,. you would only be required to remit enough instalments that would have covered the next year’s balance due.

It gets a little tricky, estimating instalments according to Canada Revenue Agency, and well .. guestimating it using the simple method and usually what most simple T2 programs also use - they make it simple.

More →

The following is now available on the CRA Web site:

Did you know…

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Ontario Ministry of Revenue have announced a single system for corporate tax filing in Ontario, which will save Ontario businesses up to $100 million in total administrative costs each year.

Starting in 2009, the CRA will administer Ontario’s corporate income tax, corporate minimum tax, capital tax, and special additional tax on life insurers, as well as the Ontario Corporations Information Act Annual Return, which will be included in a single T2 tax return. This means that Ontario businesses will benefit from one form, one set of rules, one audit, one appeals process, one point of contact.

More →

The following is now available on the CRA Web site:

Did you know…

That you should notify the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) when directors of your corporation change?

Avoid the possibility of service delays by ensuring that information on the incoming directors is added to our system and information on the outgoing directors is removed. Once the information has been updated, the new directors will be able to speak with CRA agents on the phone and submit written requests, such as Form RC59, Business Consent Form, on behalf of their corporation. Directors can also have online access to their business’s tax information through My Business Account at www.cra.gc.ca/mybusinessaccount. For a director to have online access, our system must contain his or her social insurance number.

You can send a copy of official documentation showing the change of directors by fax or by mail to your tax services office. Examples of acceptable documentation include official notification from the incorporating body, minutes of the Board of Directors’ resolution approving the change, a certificate of incumbency with an impression of the corporate seal, among others. If we need additional information before updating our system, we will contact you.

More →

The following News Release or Speech has just been posted on the Finance Canada Site.

Ottawa, November 20, 2008
2008-093

The Minister of Finance today sent the following open letter to federally regulated financial institutions regarding minimum withdrawal requirements for Registered Retirement Income Funds.

Dear ______:

More →