Main

Taxes

February 08, 2012

Amazon to open real-world store this year: report

Amazon doesn’t need any PR bumps, but let’s give it one anyway, shall we?

A_com_logo_RGBMy favourite Amazon story goes like this: one weeknight in 2010, I caught a late-night showing of The Social Network. Certainly, it was the year’s best movie, and so inspired was I that I came home and said, Hey, I oughtta read the book that was made from.

So sometime after midnight, well into the a.m., I placed an order for Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires.” Before the end of the next work day, it was at my door.

I’m not a paid Amazon advocate, just a fan of its convenience. So why, then, would a service as punctual as the web retailer actually open its own bricks-and-mortar store?

Continue reading »

Posted at 12:36 PM in Consumer news, Current affairs, Shopping | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 05, 2012

Are blended families becoming the new normal?

The makeup of today's Canadian household has morphed into a web of relationships, changing the way families handle their money, particularly if such blended arrangements come equipped with kids.

AdPulling together a family with your new spouse, your spouse's children, and your own can lead to certain issues on the financial front, warns Jean-Rémy Deschênes, a wealth manager with the Desjardin Group.

The issues with blended families are never simple but are easier to handle when everyone is still alive and the documents can be amended.

And while children of any blended family can struggle with stepparents, the feuds between children and their parents’ spouses can be more intense when money is at stake.

Continue reading »

Posted at 10:21 AM in Divorce, Family finances, Insurance, Taxes | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

October 20, 2011

Canadians' sense of well-being? Depends on who you ask

A couple of week ago, we talked about the Misery Index, a measure of how Americans feel about their bleak economic prospects.

AdNow, however, Canadians have their own index and it's much broader than the U.S. version -- but not really any less gloomy.

The measure is based on 64 indicators from eight separate areas: living standards, community vitality, democratic engagement, education, healthy populations, environment, time use, leisure and culture.

Overall, the index suggests the quality of life in Canada has actually decreased since 1994, the starting point for the new measure which is based out of the University of Waterloo.

Continue reading »

Posted at 12:25 PM in Economic news, Family finances, Personal finance, Taxes, Unemployment | | Comments (33) | TrackBack (0)

August 17, 2011

Warren Buffett demands to pay more taxes

Warren Buffett, to be sure, is not your average tycoon.

169849_tax Yes, the investing guru is among the world’s wealthiest (officially third this year, according to Forbes) but he’s decidedly unique even among the stinking of the stinking rich.

For instance, not only does he look like Orville Redenbacher, but he appears to live just like any old moth-ballin’, Werthers-suckin’, change-rattlin’ 80-year-old. Despite a fortune of $47 billion, he’s lived in the same modest Nebraska home he bought for $31,500 in 1958.

Still, there is yet another characteristic to the Berkshire Hathaway boss that is dissimilar from the world’s billionaires: he wants to pay more taxes.

Continue reading »

Posted at 01:44 AM in Consumer news, Current affairs, Taxes | | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

August 16, 2011

Tax proposal would charge drivers a fee for the miles they drive

If the Dutch government has its way, the cost of driving may be going up for those who spend most of their time behind the wheel.

Meter-2-popup1 A select group of cars in the Netherlands have been outfitted with meters designed to charge drivers a monthly fee for the kilometres they drive.

Aside from obvious costs like gas, the meter also factors in the cost to society in the form of pollution, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and wear and tear on roads, reports the New York Times.

Using the car's GPS and a wireless connection, the system tabulates a charge for each car trip by using a  formula that also takes account of a car’s fuel efficency, the time of day and the route (driving on less-traveled roads is cheaper). 

Continue reading »

Posted at 08:40 AM in Cars, Economic news, Insurance, Taxes | | Comments (20) | TrackBack (0)

July 25, 2011

First nations entitled to tax break on investments, top court rules

It’s fair to say that some Canadians find it troubling that First Nations citizens don’t pay much in the way of taxes. Well, now those folks are really going feel hard done by.

Court In a decision aboriginal leaders are hailing as a major affirmation of Indian status rights, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a Huron business man who invested in term deposits at a credit union located on his Quebec reserve doesn’t owe any tax on the interest he earned on his investments.

The landmark decision overturned lower-court rulings claiming that the estate of the late Rolland Bastien was required to pay taxes on the passive investment income he earned from the sale his longstanding moccasin business.

Section 87 of the federal Indian Act dictates that income earned by natives working on-reserve isn’t taxable. However, income earned off-reserve is taxable.

Continue reading »

Posted at 12:36 AM in Current affairs, Economic news, Legal affairs, Taxes | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

June 21, 2011

Time to settle up: IRS targets Americans living in Canada

Close to one million Americans living in Canada could be in trouble with the IRS, even though they’ve been keeping their taxes up top date on this side of the border.  

Tax Americans have long been required to file an annual tax return based on their worldwide income, regardless where they actually earned their money. That’s nothing new.

But, starting in 2013, foreign financial institutions will have to hand over information to the IRS about any current and former U.S. citizens they have accounts with.

For many expats, the result could be filing years of U.S. tax returns, including potential penalties unless they take advantage of a limited amnesty which ends this summer.

Continue reading »

Posted at 01:34 AM in Banking, Consumer news, Personal finance, Taxes | | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)

May 25, 2011

Single moms better off in Canada, at least when it comes to taxes

Compared to most developed countries, Canada has a relatively low tax and social security burden on labour income, according to recent OECD figures.

The average tax wedge, which is calculated by adding income taxes to employee and employer social security contributions and deducting cash transfers as a percentage of total labour costs, is lower than the OECD average for every family type, says the organization’s most recent Taxing Wages Report.

What’s more, the difference between Canada’s tax wedge and the OECD average has increased in the past 11 years, according to the report.

Continue reading »

Posted at 01:00 AM in Economic news, Family finances, Taxes | | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0)

May 24, 2011

Time to increase duty-free limits for cross-border shoppers ?

Looking to take free trade right to your door step, the United States has asked Canada to raise its duty-free limits for day trips across the border, perhaps to as much as $1,000.  

Flag Americans can buy and bring back $200 worth of Canadian goods in the first two days before they have to settle up with U.S. customs. Over two days, the exemption is $800.

Conversely, after one day, our “exemption” at the border is a mere $50; between two and seven days, you can bring back $400 worth of goods and, after one week, it’s a $750 exemption on most goods.

Earlier this year, former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson proposed that the government increase these exemptions tenfold: raising the one-day allowance from $50 to $500 per person; the three-day allowance from $250 to $2,500; that longer-stay allowance from $750 to $7,500.

Continue reading »

Posted at 10:52 AM in Consumer news, Economic news, Shopping, Taxes | | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

May 19, 2011

If no fat tax, then what about taxing parents of obese kids?

There’s a reason the fat tax story won’t die.

1119511_burger For every detractor that points out the idea’s a little totalitarian – “Where does it end?” wrote one commenter when MSN floated the idea back in 2009. “Should people who engage in activities such as sky diving or riding motorcycles pay a danger tax? Should people who have sex with more than one partner pay an STD tax?” – there’s someone, anyone, that suggests it’s not as hypocritical as you might think.

“I’m a smoker and have been taxed a lot with the so-called sin tax,” replied another reader. “We are told that it’s because we cost the system more. I don’t see the diference (sic) from taxing a smoker or taxing the fat. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”

Continue reading »

Posted at 12:56 AM in Current affairs, Taxes | | Comments (22) | TrackBack (0)

April 07, 2011

EI benefits can be a real headache come tax time

The number of EI recipients has fallen sharply over the past year, especially for men. In the span of a year, the number of Canadian men receiving EI benefits dropped by 13.4 per cent, while the number of women decreased by just 6.9 per cent.

Employ But with tax season on hand, some of these folks may be surprised to discover that they owe taxes on those EI benefits, a particular headache for those who were lucky enough to find a decent job sometime late last year. 

Here’s what to watch out for as the deadline approaches.

Continue reading »

Posted at 08:07 AM in Money management, Personal finance, Taxes, Workplace | | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

Next »

advertisement

AUTHORS
Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...

TOP TAGS
ARCHIVES

More...