For many Canadians planning their retirement, a pervasive worry is outliving one’s savings. A big part of the reason why they fear such an eventuality is that such savings could as a result of unexpected major medical costs be depleted.
The Canada Revenue Agency doesn’t publish information or statistics on the number of individual taxpayers who owe it money in the form of back taxes, interest, or penalties. Nonetheless, it is a safe assumption that some percentage of the 25 million or so Canadians who filed a tax return this past spring either couldn’t pay their 2012 taxes when due or still owe money from past years – or both. Being unable to pay one’s bills on time and as due obviously isn’t desirable no matter who the creditor is. There are, however, a number of detailed reasons why owing money to the tax authorities is a particularly bad situation to be in.
It shouldn’t be news to anyone that while the cost of obtaining a post-secondary education continues to rise, the government’s financial support of post-secondary institutions has, no less, declined. Additionally, the generous government student loan and grant programs available to earlier generations of students are no longer as generous as they once were. A realistic annual budget (including tuition, residence, and textbooks) for even a general arts or science undergraduate program now runs between $15,000 and $20,000. And, where a student decides to pursue post-graduate work or to enter a professional study program like law, dentistry, or medicine, those costs will skyrocket.
The baby boom generation, whose members are now between the ages of 48 and 67, is also known, with good reason, as the “sandwich generation”. Many baby boomers are now in the position of needing to provide some degree of practical support or care to aging parents while also trying to save for their own retirement and to provide for their children. Those children are, in many cases, enrolled in costly post-secondary education programs or, having finished their education, remain living in the family home.
Spring and summer are, in any year, typically the busiest season for real estate sales and, consequently, the time when most moves take place. It's also the season when many post-secondary students are moving home for the summer and back to school as fall approaches. For any number of reasons, therefore, a lot of people will be moving this summer.
In the 2011 federal Budget, the federal government announced a hiring credit for Canadian small businesses, to provide an incentive for such businesses to take on new employees. That program provided small business owners with a tax credit equal to any year-over-year increase in EI premiums paid by the business. The maximum credit available was $1,000 and any amount receivable was automatically credited to the employer’s payroll account with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). There was no requirement for the business owner to apply for the credit, as any available credit amount would be calculated by the CRA from the T4 information filed by the business for the current and previous taxation years. For purposes of the credit, a small business owner was defined as one whose total employer EI premiums for the previous year was $10,000 or less. Employers who created a new business would also be eligible for the credit.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued a Tax Tip reminding small business owners who are eligible for the Hiring Credit for Small Business (HCSB) for 2012 that they can receive that credit when they file their 2012 T4 information return later this month.
