Whether you’re old enough to remember the original “Home, Sweet Home” or your generational instincts are more attuned to Mötley Crüe’s 1985 power ballad of the same name (or Carrie Read More
Election day in the United States of America is almost here. As compelling to observe as it may be for those of us on the northern side of the border, Read More
Benjamin Franklin wasn’t first, but perhaps most famously lamented that: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner, Read More
Every gambler knows / That the secret to survivin’ / Is knowin’ what to throw away / And knowin’ what to keep / ‘Cause every hand’s a winner / And Read More
Samantha Prasad is a tax partner at the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. Her practice focuses mainly on corporate, estate and international Read More
Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner, Trust and Estate Practitioner and regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He is an expert in succession planning for family business owners and tax Read More
Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner, Trust and Estate Practitioner and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He has extensive experience in succession planning for family business owners using Read More
Developing an effective tax planning strategy for selling or transferring your business is not so simple. Potential successors or acquirers may be family members, non-family management or outside third party Read More
Watch the mutual funds outside your registered accounts. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the hook for taxes if you buy just prior to an end-of-year capital gains distribution. And Read More
The Liberal government’s 2016 federal budget was built around the theme of “growing the middle class”. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP, takes Read More
You must turn your RRSP into a RRIF or an annuity by the end of the year you turn 71. Otherwise you’ll receive all your RRSP money and have it Read More
Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based certified financial planner and trust and estate practitioner, is a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He says investment and tax planning strategies like the immediate Read More
If you are in the market for a cottage, cabin, camp, chalet, shack or whatever you may call a second or vacation home in your part of this Great White Read More
Markham, Ont.-based Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with special expertise in tax planning for high net worth individuals and their families. Read More
The crafters of the legislation creating the Tax-Free Savings Account obviously weren’t moved by Juliet’s lament to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any Read More
Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributing editor to The TaxLetter, has some suggestions for where to look for funds to Read More
Mark Goodfield, CPA, CA, LPA, editor of the popular blog The Blunt Bean Counter, author of Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs and a contributing editor to The TaxLetter, Read More
‘Melt and cascade’ describes what happens to a solid ice jam on a hot summer’s day: a fixed form becomes a fluid, more dynamic element. Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based Read More
Giving to others can benefit you, too. Toronto-based Kim Inglis is an investment advisor and portfolio manager with the Reynolds Inglis Group within Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Here she shows Read More
Mark Goodfield, CPA, CA, LPA, is the creative force behind the popular blog The Blunt Bean Counter and author of Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs. In his inaugural Read More
The Liberals have promised change. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter, highlights some of the details Read More
With roughly half of Canadian marriages ending in divorce, many people view “Till death do us part” as a quaint concept. Divorce is now so commonplace that Statistics Canada no Read More
Moving for work or school? Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a contributing editor of The TaxLetter, outlines tax planning strategies for Read More
You likely qualify for deductions when you file your income tax return. If so, some tax planning this month by properly filling in form T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions Read More
Those of you who happen to own shares in a private corporation, especially a family owned business, should be aware of some tax traps to avoid. Samantha Prasad, a tax Read More
The new cumulative contribution limit on a Tax-Free Savings Account is $41,000. Everybody should have a TFSA. TFSAs are the best thing offered to investors by the federal government since Read More
We used to communicate with the Canada Revenue Agency via paper or online forms. Now you can get social with the CRA via Twitter, e-mail, RSS feeds, YouTube and mobile Read More
Markham, Ontario-based Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and CEO of WEALTHinsurance.com and illnessPROTECTION.com. He says new rules are coming in 2017 but Read More
Being too generous to your family can hurt. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP, outlines the benefits and potential traps in any tax Read More
Sending someone away from home to university for four years can cost more than $100,000. That’s taking into account tuition, books, transportation, room and board, and incidentals. Government cutbacks, inflation, Read More
It’s a common question at tax-filing time: What employment expenses are tax-deductible by a salaried employee? Peter Still, a Markham, Ont.-based Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified General Accountant (CGA) Read More
The federal government’s new budget contains a number of personal tax measures that may affect you. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross and a Read More
Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross and a contributing editor to The TaxLetter, outlines some tax planning strategies such as income splitting and asset Read More
The Money Reporter regularly publishes tables of recommended government bonds, corporate bonds and preferred shares suitable for income-oriented investors. The monthly Fact and Advice Sheet also gives guidance for current Read More
Mutual fund investors should be prepared for tax advice slips which will report their income, eligible Canadian dividends and capital gains and losses when doing their tax planning.
At this time Read More
April 30 is almost here. But before those April showers bring May flowers, the Canada Revenue Agency is going to want to rain on your parade too. Here are some Read More
Many mutual-fund management companies offer services that can help investors organize their affairs. Some of these services may be of great assistance to the investor, while others tend to benefit the fund company more. Read More
Putting money into your Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or RRSP, is a great way to start planning for your retirement. And there’s no better time to start thinking about your Read More
Writing in The TaxLetter, Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner and Trust and Estate Practitioner with Markham, Ontario-based illnessPROTECTION.com outlined several easy ways to help you and your family find Read More
Dividend Re-Investment Plans, or “DRIPs,” can assist you in building your wealth. You can instruct companies with DRIPs to reinvest your dividends into new shares. You can build your wealth Read More
The federal government introduced a new “first-time donor’s super credit” last year, but many Canadians are still either unaware of what it is or not quite sure of what the Read More
As we begin to approach the end of the calendar year, a common tax tip is to think about “tax-loss selling”. This refers to the strategy of triggering losses before Read More
Watch the mutual funds you buy outside your registered accounts between now and the end of the year. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the hook for taxes if you Read More
Once upon a time, a family was eligible for a double principal residence exemption. However, in the early 1980s, the tax rules were changed. Now there is essentially a one-principal-residence-per-family Read More
There is nothing more joyful than the birth of a child. It is a very emotional time for parents and grandparents as they make lofty plans for the baby’s future Read More
Registered Retirement Savings Plans, or RRSPs, help you to save for a more comfortable retirement while deferring taxes – hopefully on more favorable terms – into the future.
But the investment Read More
BCE Inc. wants to buy the Bell Aliant shares that it doesn’t already own. BCE (TSX—BCE) remains a buy. If you hold Bell Aliant (TSX—BA), you should perform your own Read More
Thinking about what to include in your will? If you are like most people, your thoughts are probably focused on who gets what, and who will take care of the Read More
Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the law firm Minden Gross LLP, recalls that a few years ago, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was actively engaged in a special audit Read More
Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner and Trust and Estate Practitioner, says that in his business he encounters many people who are well established and working hard with good jobs. Read More
In the search for yield, investors have turned to such things as monthly income funds and income trusts, structured notes, and capital class units. But again, cash in your hand Read More
Some investors find that when they need a list of their securities to undertake some portfolio management or tax planning, they have to go on a safari of sorts, fumbling Read More