Tax

How to justify employment expenses

If you’re a self-employed advisor and hire an assistant – be it your spouse or someone at arm’s length – as long as he or she actually performs the work and is paid a reasonable salary, you should have no trouble deducting the wages you pay. The ability of an advisor who’s considered an employee […]

By Jamie Golombek |November 1, 2009

3 min read

Tax News

The benefits of tax-informed trusts

The trust has been around for centuries as a device for the planning, protection and transition of property. Once perceived as the preserve of the affluent, trusts can now be woven into solutions – simple to sophisticated – across the spectrum of wealth holdings. Investors have the potential to strategically manage who’s liable for income […]

November 1, 2009

4 min read

Tax News

Rethink tax strategies

Since we’re all about tax this month, I’ve polled some of my colleagues to come up with a list of common tax-related blunders they’ve seen in relation to investment advisor assistance or recommendations. Hopefully, you don’t spot any of your handiwork in this list, in which case you can use it as a reminder of […]

By Gena Katz |November 1, 2009

3 min read

Tax News

Minimizing tax helps strengthen relationships

The latest economic indicators have livened the financial sector. Job creation is up, so is retail spending. Predictions the recession is ending are starting to hold water. Investment returns are getting easier to come by. And many advisors said they actually enjoyed sending out third-quarter client statements. The numbers are up and it’s nice to […]

By Staff |November 1, 2009

2 min read

TFSAs will be potent tax-saving vehicles

Based on the evidence so far, we might conclude the Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have had a rather lukewarm debut. In the six months since their January 1, 2009 introduction, Canadians opened 3.6 million TFSAs with an average balance of about $3,400, according to Investor Economics. Clients did catch on though: By the end […]

8 min read

Consequences of U.S. estate tax repeal

In early September, the U.S. Family Research Council (FRC) and the American Family Business Foundation released a report analyzing the effects of maintaining the estate tax on jobs, government revenues, and economic growth. Their report, “Repealing Death Tax Will Create Jobs and Boost Economy,” combined two recent analysis of the estate tax by a former […]

2 min read

U.S. estate tax laws are changing

set the top tax rate at 45%; index that amount for inflation; retain the U.S. $3.5 million exemption; make the same changes as Alternative 1, but apply a two-tiered rate: set the tax rate equal to the top rate on capital gains (currently 15% in 2010 and 20% thereafter); set the exemption for the combined […]

6 min read

Help entrepreneurs create tax plans

If you work with high net worth clients, chances are a high percentage of them are business owners. The tax needs of this group, which makes up a large percentage of the higher net worth clients being served by Canadian advisors, are unique; especially when it comes to passing the business to new hands. Succession […]

9 min read

Cutting U.S. tax ties isn’t easy

Canadian and foreign pension plans; Canadian and foreign pension plans; RRSPs; IRAs; qualified tuition, education and health savings accounts; and certain trust interests. The $626,000 exemption applies only to gains derived from capital property and does not reduce income inclusions resulting from treatment of special property. Tax on future gifts If Jim gives a gift […]

4 min read