Stansbury & Company Professional Corporation

Tax Alerts

Tax Briefing(s)

ON - Apprenticeship training tax credit ended for some trades
In order to encourage businesses to hire and train apprentices in the skilled trades, Ontario provides a 35 to 45 per cent refundable tax credit on the salaries and wages paid to eligible apprentic...

ON - Budget proposes increase in Employer Health Tax exemption
The 2013-14 Ontario budget brought down on May 2, 2013 included a proposal to increase, effective January 1, 2014, the basic exemption for the province’s Employer Health (payroll) tax, or EHT...

ON - 2013-14 provincial budget to be brought down on May 2
The Ontario Government has announced that the province’s 2013-14 budget will be brought down on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at around 4 p.m. The announcement of the budget date can be found at ...

ON - Consumer protection laws enhanced for door-to-door sales
The government of Ontario has moved to strengthen consumer protection laws with respect to transactions entered into with door-to-door salespeople. The new rules specifically target door-to-door sa...

ON - Province reduces cap on future tuition fee increases
Increases to tuition costs levied by post-secondary institutions in Ontario are done within a framework set by the provincial government. That government recently announced that the maximum allowab...

ON - Interest Rates - 2013
The province of Ontario charges and pays interest on underpayments and overpayments of tax at rates prescribed by statute and set at the beginning of each calendar quarter. The chart below sets out...

ON - Online return filing available to Ontario businesses
Ontario businesses are able to file returns online for eleven separate provincial taxes through the province’s ONT-TAXS program. The types of returns which can be filed using ONT-TAXS are as ...

ON - Throne speech confirms deficit reduction plan and tuition grant program
The Throne Speech delivered on behalf of the government of Ontario on February 19 contained few specifics with respect to future government initiatives or plans. However, the speech did confirm the...

ON - Online calculator available for estimate of 2013 provincial tax credits
Ontario taxpayers who have received their T4 and other information slips for income earned during 2012 can use those figures to calculate the Ontario tax credits for which they may be eligible duri...

ON - Personal Tax Credit Amounts for 2013
For 2013, the province will provide the following non-refundable personal tax credit amounts: Basic personal amount ………………………&...

ON - Province to impose new rules on debt-settlement companies
As the amount of debt carried by Canadians continues to increase, many individuals and families are seeking relief through the services of debt settlement companies. Ontario is now joining the list...

ON - Interest Rates—2013
The province of Ontario charges and pays interest on underpayments and overpayments of tax at rates prescribed by statute and set at the beginning of each calendar quarter. The chart below sets out...

ON - 2013 Corporate Tax Rates
As of January 1, 2013, Ontario levies a general corporate tax rate of 11.5%. The small business threshold is $500,000, and qualifying small business income under that threshold is taxed at a rate o...

ON - 2013 Individual Tax Rates and Brackets
Effective January 1, 2013, the provincial tax rates and income thresholds for Ontario are as follows: 5.05% on the first $39,723 of taxable income; 9.15% on the next $39,72...

ON - Listing of 2013 payment dates for Ontario tax credit and benefit programs
Ontario Finance has posted on its Web site the schedule for the payment of tax benefits and credits to qualifying residents of the province during 2013...

QC - Making a change to a tax return filed for 2012
Quebec taxpayers who have already filed a provincial return for the 2012 taxation year and wish to make a change to that return can obtain the form needed to do so from the Revenu Quebec Web site....

QC - Province announces details of new mining tax regime
Effective for corporate taxation years beginning after 2013, the province will introduce significant changes to its mining tax system. Following a consultation process, the Quebec Ministry of Finan...

QC - Tuition fee tax credit reduced
As is the case in other provinces, Quebec provides a tax credit for post-secondary tuition paid. The credit is non-refundable but can be carried forward to future years and can be transferred to ot...

QC - April 30 filing deadline for individual income tax returns
Most taxpayers filing an individual income tax return for 2012 with Revenu Quebec must do so no later than April 30, 2013, but self-employed taxpayers and their spouses have until June 15 to file t...

QC - Extended hours provided for income tax telephone enquiries service
Revenu Quebec has announced that, during the individual income tax filing season, its representatives will be available during extended hours to answer taxpayer queries. Until May 3, Revenu...

QC - Minimum wage to increase effective May 1, 2013
The Quebec government has announced that the provincial minimum wage will increase, effective May 1, 2013, from $9.90 per hour to $10.15 per hour. The announcement of the increase is availa...

QC - Québec tax filers not required to include information slips with return
Revenu Québec has issued a reminder that taxpayers no longer need to enclose most RL slips, receipts, and other supporting documents with their income tax returns. This new rule applies regardless...

QC - Fuel tax increase to take effect April 1
Effective April 1, a provincial fuel tax increase will be implemented. As of that date, the rate of tax will increase from $0.182 to $0.192 per litre of gasoline and from $0.192 to $0.202 per litre...

QC - Prescribed Interest Rates for 2013
Revenu Québec has announced the interest rates that will be levied and paid on amounts owed to and by the government of Quebec for the first half of 2013. Those debit and credit interest rates are...

QC - New high-income personal tax bracket and rate in effect as of 2013
The province of Quebec has joined Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia in creating a new personal income tax bracket for high-income earners in the province. Effective with the 2013 t...

QC - Personal Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2013
Effective January 1, 2013, personal tax rates and income brackets for individual taxpayers in the province are as follows: 16% on income equal to or less than $41,095; 20% ...

QC - New initiative to provide for business registration by telephone
New businesses in the province will be able to register by telephone for purposes of goods and services tax (GST) and Quebec sales tax (QST), under a pilot project recently launched by Revenu Québ...

QC - Automobile deduction limits for 2013 announced by Revenu Québec
Revenu Québec has announced that the following automobile expense deduction limits will apply for the 2013 taxation year.For purposes of capital cost allowance (CCA), the ceiling on th...

QC - Province to provide refundable tax credit for youth activities
The province has joined the federal and other provincial governments in providing a refundable tax credit for “youth activities”. For purposes of the credit, eligible activities include...

QC - Online filing requirement for tax filing services for 2013
Revenu Québec has announced that it will be adopting a measure previously announced by the Canada Revenue Agency by requiring tax preparers who complete more than 10 personal or corporation provin...

QC - Personal Tax Credit Amounts for 2013
For 2013, the province will provide the following non-refundable personal tax credit amounts: Basic amount …………………………&h...

QC - Revenu Québec outlines 2013 payment schedule for advance payment of tax credits
Revenu Québec provides advance payments of a number of provincial tax credits, including the tax credit for childcare expenses, the tax credit for home-support services for seniors, the work premi...

QC - Information issued on changes to source deductions for 2013
The most recent release of Revenu Québec’s Tax News contains two articles on changes to employer source deductions which take effect for the 2013 tax year. The first article, found at ...

QC - 2013 Corporate Tax Rates
For the 2013 tax year, Quebec will levy a corporate tax rate of 11.9% on active business income ineligible for the small business rate, income from manufacturing and processing, and passive income ...

QC - Prescribed Interest Rates for 2013
Revenu Québec has announced the interest rates that will be levied and paid on amounts owed to and by the government of Quebec in 2013. The debit and credit interest rates for the first quarter of...

QC - Quebec Pension Plan contribution rates for 2013
Revenu Québec has announced the Quebec Pension Plan contribution rates and amounts for 2013, and those are as follows:maximum pensionable earnings are increased from $50,100 to $51,100...

QC - Revenu Québec to allow payment of tax debts by pre-authorized debit
Individual tax debtors who are unable to pay the amount of taxes owed in a single payment because of their financial situation now have a new option. Revenu Québec recently issued a notice indicat...

QC - Upcoming change to QST rate affecting new housing rebate
Revenu Québec has issued a notice alerting taxpayers in the province to the fact that the change in the QST rate which takes effect on January 1, 2013 will impact the province’s new housing ...

QC - Revenu Québec announces consequential changes to increase to QST rate
Effective January 1, 2013, the Quebec sales tax (QST) rate will be increased from 9.5% to 9.975%. In anticipation of that change, Revenu Québec has published the percentages which will be used aft...

QC - Income tax, source deductions, and consumption tax calendars provided for Quebec businesses
Both corporations and sole proprietorships or partnerships operating in the province are required to meet a number of filing and remittance deadlines related to both income tax and source deduction...

QC - Revenu Québec issues information notice on upcoming integration of QST and GST
Earlier this year, it was announced that the federal government and the government of Quebec had entered into an agreement to better harmonize the Quebec sales tax (QST) system with the federal GST...

Beware of fraudulent communications during tax filing season
At this time, millions of Canadians arebeing reached by the Canada Revenue Agencythrough either a request for additional information needed for assessments filed for the 2012 taxation year, a Notic...

Unemployment rate unchanged for April
The most recent Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey indicates little change in overall employment for the month of April 2013 and, consequently, that the unemployment rate was unchanged a...

Obtaining information on your 2013 TFSA contribution room
The Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for each individual income tax return filed no longer includes information on the taxpayer’s current year tax-free savings a...

NETFILE service still available for filing of 2012 individual returns
Although the April 30 filing deadline for 2012 individual income tax returns has passed (save for self-employed individuals and their spouses whom haveuntil June 17 to file), the Canada Revenue Age...

Taxpayer relief measures available to Canadians affected by spring floods
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers a taxpayer relief program which allows the Agency to waive interest amounts or penalties which would normally be assessed. Such a waiver is provided wher...

Inflation rate for March drops to 1.0%
The most recent issue of Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index shows that the rate of inflation, as measured on a year-over-year basis, slowed somewhat during the month of March. T...

Filing and payment deadline for 2012 taxes on April 30
The Canada Revenue Agency has issued a reminder that all individual income taxes owed for the 2012 tax year are due and payable on or before Tuesday, April 30, 2013. For most individual taxpayers, ...

Bank of Canada holds interest rate at current level
As expected, the most recent interest rate announcement from the Bank of Canada maintains interest rates at their current levels. Consequently, the bank rate remains 1.25%. The Bank’s...

Extended hours provided for Canada Revenue Agency’s individual income tax enquiries line
Until April 30, 2013, the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Individual Income Tax Enquiries telephone service will be available during the evening hours and on weekends, in addition to its regula...

Making individual income tax final payments for 2012
The deadline for payment of individual income tax owed for the 2012 taxation year is Tuesday April 30, 2013. Changes made by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respect to personal income ...

Canada Revenue Agency introduces new tax information technical publication
For many years, the Canada Revenue Agency issued and periodically updated tax technical publications known as Information Bulletins (ITs), which provided the Agency’s views on various persona...

Unemployment rate for March increases to 7.2%
The latest issue of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey indicates that, overall, employment declined by 55,000 during the month of March. The number of employees in the private sector dro...

1.2% rise in inflation recorded for February 2013
The most recent issue of Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Survey indicates that, for the month of February, the rate of inflation stood at 1.2%, as measured on a year-over-year basis. The i...

Prescribed interest rates for 2013
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced the interest rates that will apply to amounts owed to and by the federal government for the first half of 2013. Debit rate Credit Rate...

Federal Budget 2013: Excise Duty on Tobacco
Manufactured tobacco currently receives preferential tax treatment compared to cigarettes. To eliminate this treatment, Budget 2013 proposes an increase in the rate of excise duty on manufactured toba...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - Zapper Software Tax Evasion
Electronic suppression of sales software (commonly known as “zapper” software) has been used by some businesses to hide sales to understate GST/HST and income tax liabilities. This is seen...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - GST/HST Payable by the Governor General
Purchases for the use of the Governor General are currently exempt supplies under the Excise Tax Act. In an attempt to simplify compliance for vendors, it is proposed that this exemption will...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - Paid Parking
Certain supplies made by public sector bodies (PSBs) are exempt supplies if all or substantially all of the supply of property or services is made for free. It is proposed that this exemption be li...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - Business Information Requirements
It is proposed that the Minister have authority to withhold GST/HST refunds until such time as a registrant has accurately provided all the required business identification information which was origi...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - Health Care - Reports and Services for Non-Health care
Proposed amendments are intended to clarify that GST/HST applies to reports, examinations and other services that are performed for purposes other than the health care or palliative care. Such taxable...

Federal Budget 2013: GST/HST - Health Care - Home Care Services
An expanded exemption is proposed for certain home and personal care services, one that is more in line with current provincial and territorial practices for health-related assistive services delivere...

Federal Budget 2013: Stop International Tax Evasion Program
The CRA is introducing an incentive to individuals who provide them with information on major international tax non-compliance that results in the collection of taxes due. This will apply to individua...

Federal Budget 2013: International Electronic Funds Transfers
The Budget contains several provisions to enable the CRA to be more aggressive in tackling issues of international tax avoidance. Beginning in 2015, all banks, credit unions, caisses populaires, trust...

Federal Budget 2013: Restricted Farm Losses
Restricted Farm loss (“RFL”) provisions apply in situations where a taxpayer incurs a loss from farming, unless his/her chief source of income is from farming or a combination of farming a...

Federal Budget 2013: Additional Deduction for Credit Unions
Credits unions can normally claim the small business deduction that applies to Canadian-controlled private corporations (“CCPCs”). The 17% tax deduction, applicable to the first $500,00...

Federal Budget 2013: Scientific Research and Experimental Development Program
The Budget provides $15 million in new funding to the CRA so that it can focus more resources on reviews of Scientific Research and Experimental Development (“SR&ED”) program claims whe...

Federal Budget 2013: Labour-Sponsored Venture Capital Corporations Tax Credit
Labour-sponsored venture capital corporations (LSVCCs) are a type of mutual fund corporation, sponsored by labour unions or other labour organizations. A 15% federal tax credit is available to indi...

Federal Budget 2013: Taxes in Dispute and Charitable Donation Tax Shelters
Provisions of the Income Tax Act generally prohibit the CRA from taking collection action in instances where an individual taxpayer has objected to an assessment. In order to discourage a ...

Federal Budget 2013: Dividend Tax Credit
The Budget proposes to adjust the “gross-up and credit” mechanism that applies to taxable dividends other than “eligible dividends” paid by a corporation resident in Canada ...

Federal Budget 2013: Deduction for Safety Deposit Boxes
Taxpayers have for many years been able to deduct reasonable expenses related to the earning of investment income. One such deductible expense was the cost of renting a safety deposit box to store ...

Federal Budget 2013: Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption
Currently taxpayers are allowed a lifetime capital gains exemption of up to $750,000 on the disposition of qualified small business corporation shares or qualified farming and fishing properties. Comm...

Federal Budget 2013: First-Time Donor’s Super Credit
The Charitable Donations Tax Credit allows an individual to claim a credit of 15% on the first $200 of donations made, and 29% of additional donations in excess of that amount. The taxpayer may cla...

Federal Budget 2013: Adoption Expense Tax Credit
The adoption expense tax credit (AETC) applies a 15% federal tax credit to adoption expenses incurred by adoptive parents in the year that an adoption of an eligible child is completed. An “e...

T1 Special Return form not available for 2012 filings
Earlier this year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that it would no longer be mailing individual income tax packages to Canadian taxpayers, and that paper return forms and guides could in...

Unemployment rate for February unchanged
The latest issue of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey indicates that, while employment rose by 51,000 jobs during the month of February, the overall unemployment rate of 7.0% was unchan...

Finance announces date for 2013 Federal Budget
Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, has announced that the 2013 Federal Budget will be brought down on Thursday, March 21, 2013, at around 4:00 p.m. The Minister’s announcement can be ...

Bank of Canada leaves interest rate unchanged
In an announcement made on March 6, the Bank of Canada indicated that it will be maintaining interest rates at their current level. Accordingly, the bank rate remains at 1.25%, where it has been si...

Obtaining a 2012 tax package
Revenue Canada is no longer mailing tax packages to individuals who have paper-filed their returns in previous years. The Agency recently posted an announcement on its Web site providing in...

Financial institution login information can be used to access personal tax information
Many Canadians carry out banking transactions online, through their financial institution’s Web site, using client-specific login information. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced th...

Access code not required to NETFILE 2012 returns
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that, effective as of the 2013 filing season (for 2012 returns), taxpayers who choose to NETFILE their returns on the CRA Web site will no longer need ...

Income tax return packages no longer mailed by the CRA
The CRA has made a number of changes to its individual tax filing processes for the 2012 taxation year. As part of those changes, individuals will no longer receive their income tax return packages...

Federal corporate tax rates for 2013
There is no change to federal corporate tax rates for 2013, meaning that the general federal corporate tax rate and the rate applied to income from manufacturing and processing will remain 15.0%....

Federal individual tax credits for 2013
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2013 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows: Credit amount Tax credit Basic pe...

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2013
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2013 is 2.0%. Consequently, the following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2013 tax year: ...

NETFILE service for 2012 returns available February 11, 2013
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that its NETFILE service for individual income tax returns for the 2012 tax year will be available as of Monday, February 11, 2013. The list of softwar...

Revenue Canada issues 2012 corporate income tax return form
The T2 corporate income tax return to be used for 2012 filings has been posted on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Web site. The updated form, which can be found at ...

CRA issues individual tax return forms for 2012
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has released the T1 Individual Income Tax Return forms to be used for 2012 filings. The forms are currently available in printable format on the CRA Web site...

Finance announces automobile expense limits for 2013
The federal Department of Finance has announced the amounts which will apply for 2013 with respect to the computation of automobile expense deductions and employee benefits related to automobile us...

Mandatory electronic filing to take effect for tax preparers on January 1, 2013
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued a tax tip reminding tax preparers that, effective January 1, 2013, any preparer who is paid to prepare and file more than 10 income tax returns each year ...

Interest rates for first quarter of 2013
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced the interest rates which will apply during the first quarter (January 1 to March 31, 2013) to overpayments and underpayments of income tax and other am...

TFSA limit increased for 2013
When the federal tax-free savings account (TFSA) was introduced in 2009, the federal government indicated that the annual TFSA contribution limit of $5,000 would be indexed to inflation in $500 inc...

Canada Revenue Agency issues updated Employers’ Guide to Payroll Deductions
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued an updated version of its Employers’ Guide to Payroll Deductions. The guide, which can be found on the CRA Web site at ...

Employment insurance premium rates for 2013
The contribution rates for employment insurance premiums for 2013 have been announced by the federal government. For 2013, the contribution rate will be 1.88% on maximum insurable earnings of $47,4...

Canada Pension Plan contribution amounts for 2013 announced
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution amounts and maximum pensionable earnings which will take effect January 1, 2013.The employee and empl...

Registration for electronic filing now available for tax preparers
Starting January 2013, tax preparers who receive payment to prepare more than 10 income tax returns in a year will be required to file them electronically, and must therefore register for an EFILE ...

Bank of Canada provides interest rate announcement dates for 2013
The Bank of Canada has issued a press release outlining the dates on which announcements will be made during 2013 with respect to interest rates.In a slight departure from current practice, ...

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