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Accounting Firms Using Stay Interviews to Retain Employees

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Recent publicity over the shortage of accountants in the US has brought to light efforts that Canadian accounting firms can make to better retain their employees. Stay interviews have become a recommended option that has been highlighted by a recent publication in the Journal of Accountancy. With accounting having been…

CRA Faces Strike Votes Over Return to Office Demands

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The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE), which represents some 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees, has expressed disappointment with the tax body’s move to file a labour practices complaint against them with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. The CRA is claiming that the union is not…

Fear Mounts As Household Debt Levels Rise

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The household debt to income (DTI) ratio has risen in the third quarter, adding to the woes of already highly indebted Canadian households. The Canadian DTI has reportedly risen sharply to 183.3% in the third quarter of 2022. This is 4.3 points higher than last year. Household DTI reached record…

Canada Business Confidence Dips

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A recent survey by CPA Canada indicates that business confidence in the Canadian economy has declined. The survey of chartered accountants in both the private and public sectors found that just 9% of businesses are optimistic about the economy for the next 12 months. This is a sharp drop from…

First-Time Homebuyers to Access HBP and FHSA

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Thanks to legislation that has currently passed the second reading in the House of Commons, first-time homebuyers may be able to tap into both their Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) and first home savings account (FHSA) contributions when making the same home purchase. Before this, the draft FHSA legislation limited first-time…

Canadians Support Surtax On $1M+ Homes

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A survey conducted by the Canadian non-profit, Generation Squeeze, and Research Co., found that the majority of Canadians are in support of a surtax being imposed on homes that are valued at over $1 million. 68% of Canadians were found to be in support of a modest surtax being paid…

Government Share Buyback Tax Gets Lukewarm Reception

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The Trudeau government has proposed a 2% tax on corporate share buybacks that is intended to push companies towards spending more on workers rather than seeking to inflate value for shareholders. This proposal was inspired by a similar tax change in the US that now imposes a 1% tax on…

Businesses Face Higher Costs as Ransomware Incidents Rise

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Businesses are facing increased costs due to ransomware attacks that are reportedly on the rise according to some quarters. These costs include undertaking forensic investigations, data recovery, legal fees, and financial fraud. This is besides the cost that some have had to pay to the hackers as ransom and in…

Governments Act on Foreign Real Estate Speculation

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The federal government has introduced legislation that will institute a ban on non-Canadians buying residential property for a two-year period beginning on January 1, 2023. This temporary ban is intended to help curb speculation by foreign investors that the government claims has caused Canadians to be priced out of the…

N.B. Municipalities Asked to Cut Tax Rates

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Thanks to strong performance in the real estate market and new construction, property assessments in New Brunswick have risen to a total value of $81 billion. This is an increase of $8 billion or 10.9% since 2021. However, the impact of this performance is not quite good news for property…