Accountants and business owners concerned about how Ottawa was going to treat passive income received a somewhat pleasant surprise in the 2018 federal budget. After backpedaling on several major planks of their controversial proposal to change how small businesses are taxed last fall, the Liberals finally shared details on how passive investment income will be… Read More

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared new details on his government’s proposed tax policy changes for income splitting or sprinkling on Wednesday, the last day before MPs head home for Christmas. The revised changes include “bright line” tests designed to determine whether a business owner’s family members make meaningful contributions to the business, and are… Read More

The dust is starting to settle after Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s flurry of announcements backtracking on the federal government’s proposed small business tax changes. Now that the news conferences are over and we’ve had a few days to analyze the changes to the changes, how will the updates affect farm businesses? First of all, we… Read More

With a tractor and bales as a backdrop, Finance Minister Bill Morneau made the latest in a series of political damage control announcements regarding the Liberals’ proposed tax changes on Thursday morning. Facing serious conflict-of-interest and ethics questions about his own finances, Morneau left Ottawa to make the announcement with Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay at… Read More

Finance Minister Bill Morneau made a second announcement regarding changes to the Liberals’ small business tax proposal on Wednesday, focusing on the passive investment income policy. He said the government will allow up to $50,000 in passive income in a year before higher tax rates kick in to provide flexibility for business owners who want… Read More

This was probably not the scenario Bill Morneau envisioned when he decided to leave his Bay Street executive position and run for the Liberals in the 2015 federal election. The finance minister has quickly fallen from star candidate status to liability, as underlined by Prime Minister Trudeau’s awkward attempts to block reporters from questioning him… Read More

The federal government’s announcement that it will reduce the small business tax rate over the next two years and cancel plans for new restrictions to lifetime capital gains exemptions is “a positive sign,” according to the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Small Business and… Read More

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Small Business and Tourism Minister Bardish Chagger took a quick trip to Stouffville, Ontario on Monday morning to announce the lowering of small business tax rates, and a change to the controversial small business tax proposal they introduced in July. “We made a promise to middle… Read More

What does the show ring at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin and Liberal tax proposals have in common? Depending on the day and the country, you’ll find 22-year-old Dennis Catt in the middle of both. Last week, Catt and his Ontario 4-H judging teammates eyeballed udders and contemplated cow confirmation as they competed… Read More

Editor’s note: This letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau was submitted to RealAgriculture by Stewart Skinner, a young pig farmer from Listowel, Ontario, who voted Liberal in the 2015 federal election. He was also the Liberal candidate for Perth-Wellington in the 2014 Ontario election. Skinner posts periodically on his Modern Farmer blog. October 2nd is the last day to… Read More

Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay continues to downplay the potential impact of the Liberals’ proposed tax changes, despite widespread concerns voiced by many farmers, small business owners and their accountants. The minister took 10 minutes to sit down with RealAgriculture in his office in the Confederation Building on Parliament Hill this week to discuss the tax… Read More

The federal government wants to clamp down on incorporated business owners who it says are claiming capital gains when they should be reporting taxable income or dividends. A capital gain is essentially the increase in the value of a capital asset, such as farmland, above its purchase price. Under Canada’s tax system, only 50 percent… Read More

The federal government thinks too many Canadians are using private corporations as tax-advantaged personal savings accounts, and so it’s proposing having much higher tax rates apply to income that comes from investments made within a company. For an incorporated farm business, this “passive” investment income might include returns from GICs, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or… Read More

Members of Parliament are back at their seats for the fall sitting of Parliament, and tensions are high, with the Conservatives and NDP questioning the Liberals’ proposed tax changes announced in July. Farm groups and farmers have also been vocal in criticizing the government’s plan. “I don’t think the government realized the opposition that would… Read More

 

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