On April 7, 2022, the Federal Government released their 2022 budget. Our article contains highlights of the various financial measures in this budget, divided into these sections: • Housing • Alternative minimum tax • Dental care • Small businesses • Tradespeople • Canada Growth Fund • Climate • Bank and insurer taxes

We’re approaching the end of the year, so it’s time to review your business finances. We’ve put together an article highlighting the most critical tax-planning tips you need to know as a business owner. We’ve focused on: • How to determine the right salary and dividend mix. • The best ways to handle compensation. • How to make sure you can take advantage of the small business deduction. • What you need to know about depreciable assets and charitable donations. • How to make the most of Covid-19 relief programs.

You may be thinking about offering your employees a pension plan. You have two main choices for pension plans. One is a defined benefit pension plan – this gives your employees a set amount of money when they retire. The other option is a defined contribution pension plan, which offers more flexibility, but no set amount of money during retirement. There are four key areas you must know about for pension plans: • Contributions • Investment Management • Costs • Employee Retention We will walk you through each of these to help give you a better understanding of the differences between the two types of pension plans.

An estate freeze can be an integral part of your estate planning strategy. The purpose of an estate freeze is to transfer any future increase in your business's value (generally shares) that you own to someone else.

On April 19, 2021, the Federal Government released their 2021 budget. Our article contains highlights of the various financial measures in this budget, divided into three different sections: • Business Highlights, including an extension to COVID-19 Emergency Business Supports, new programs to support job creation, and a change in interest deductibility limits. • Individual Highlights, including details on the tax treatment and repayment of personal COVID-19 benefits (such as CERB), eligibility changes to the Disability Tax Credit, an increase in OAS for those 75 and up, and support for job skills retraining. • Additional Highlights, including a proposed federal minimum wage of $15, changes to the GST New Housing Rebate conditions, and new or increased taxes in areas such as luxury goods, tobacco, and Canadian housing owned by non-resident foreign owners.

Blended families – where two people get married but have children from previous relationships – are becoming more common. On top of the day-to-day challenges of blending a family, new spouses also have to figure out how to plan their estates, so everyone is properly taken care of. We cover all of the following a blended family must consider while estate planning: • Sharing the Family Home • Make the Most of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan • How to Share Non-Registered Investments and Other Assets • Why It's Important to Select a Good Trustee • The Advantages of Life Insurance for Blended Family Planning