While setting up a corporation may seem like a good idea if you’re self-employed, it can have serious tax consequences in certain instances. If Canada Revenue Agency determines that you are, effectively, an “incorporated employee”, it may disallow a number of business expenses as well as the small business deduction which normally applies to the [...]

Slowly, but surely, the BC Government is taking steps to revert back to the dual GST/PST system that was in place before HST was implemented. On November 28, 2011, the BC Ministry of Finance issued an update on the progress of the transition. According to the update, the plans established remain on schedule for completion [...]

Taxable benefits are an area to which business owners should pay close attention. Many benefits which, on the surface, may not appear to be taxable actually are and it’s important to protect your business and your employees by knowing the difference. For example, a car given to an employee for business use would not be [...]

The HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) in BC has been a topic of debate since well before it was even introduced. Now that the voters have spoken and HST will be repealed, focus is turning to how to take advantage of it before reverting back to the old GST/PST system. SmallBusinessBC.ca has a great article by [...]

The ballots have been cast and the decision made. The HST in BC has been repealed. Now, the government is presented with the task of reinstating the GST/PST mode. If you’re wondering what will happen now, you’re not alone. For many BC residents and entrepreneurs, questions abound. When will PST be re-implemented? Will we continue [...]

Whether you love it or hate it, the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in BC is soon to be a thing of the past. 55% of the 1.6 million BC voters who cast their ballots in the referendum opted to repeal the tax. So, the work now begins to re-instate the former GST/PST model of taxation [...]

See below for a message from Jason McLean, Chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade on why he believes keeping the HST is beneficial for business in BC. ================================================== MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN of the VANCOUVER BOARD OF TRADE Support the HST The HST Referendum begins this week. You will receive a ballot by mail [...]

BC’s Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has been a hot-button issue since it was initially proposed and even more so after it was brought into effect. The HST has been so controversial that petitioners were successful in their efforts to have a referendum by BC voters on whether to rescind the tax and revert back to [...]

If you or your spouse or common-law partner did business as a sole proprietor or if you have business income in addition to any money you earned as an employee of a company, the deadline for filing your tax return is on or before June 15, 2011. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CRA [...]

As the saying goes, time flies and another tax year has come and gone. Check out CRA’s web site for important tax filing deadlines, including the following: INDIVIDUALS – on or before April 30, 2011 SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS – on or before June 15, 2011 Please note that any tax owing is due on or before [...]

Deadline for filing T4s is February 28, 2011 for the calendar year 2010 for all employee wages and taxable benefits. In order to prepare accurate T4 forms on behalf of a company, a bookkeeper needs a complete set of books to be able to see all wages and benefits that employees have earned during the [...]

Business in Vancouver has reported on the latest in the ongoing efforts to get the recently-launched Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in BC overturned. How will it play out? Looks like we’ll have to wait and see. What are your thoughts on how keeping or nixing the tax could help or hurt your business? Here’s an [...]

With the implementation date of the HST now in effect, be sure to check out the following list of web resources to learn more about the new Harmonized Sales Tax and how it will affect you and your business. BC GOVERNMENT Consumer Taxes Section Harmonized Sales Tax, Creating Jobs, Lowering Prices CANADA REVENUE AGENCY Goods [...]

For meal expenses, the simplified rate is unchanged from 2008, a flat rate of $17 a meal or $51 per day, per person is allowed without receipts. If you choose the detailed method, you must keep your receipts. For the simplified method of claiming vehicle expenses for trips relating to the northern residents deduction, moving [...]

To encourage investment by businesses in computer systems and related peripherals, the Income Tax Regulations were amended on May 13, 2009 to add new Class 52 to Schedule II with a 100-per-cent tax depreciation rate for eligible computers and software acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 2011. Visit the CRA web site for [...]