Tax

Decorative pattern

Coming to terms with the HST

This past holiday season, the kids received a DVD of heritage-era cartoons, not the ones with either of the famous big-eared rodents, but instead a collection of fractured fairy tales. One in particular caught my attention – a tongue-in-cheek version of the story of the ant and the grasshopper. You’ll recall the original pitted the […]

March 9, 2010

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

For retirees, the cupboard is bare

For most retirees looking for a helping hand from the federal budget on Thursday, there was only one piece of good news: they likely won’t have to cope with any complex changes to their finances. In the spirit of belt-tightening, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty had few bones to throw to seniors. Aside from a […]

By Steven Lamb |March 4, 2010

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Maximize tax savings in 2010

Thanks to significant changes in 2008 and 2009, in addition to dependable, long-standing tax planning strategies, you now have many different approaches to help your clients defer their taxes and save this year and for years to come. Here are some discussion points your clients will be grateful you raised: Retirement income In June 2009, […]

By Cindy David |March 1, 2010

5 min read

Decorative pattern

Selling down South

Although many Canadians are taking advantage of low U.S. real estate pricing and the strong Canadian dollar to buy U.S. vacation properties, there are many others who have decided to sell their southern homes. It might be due to a financial need, limited use as health declines in older age or an upgrade to a […]

By Gena Katz |March 1, 2010

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Making spousal attribution rules work for you

In an ideal world, your clients would be free to shift income between themselves and a spouse. Should there be a difference in tax rates between the spouses, this shifting of income would normally result in tax savings for the family. To prevent widespread income splitting, and presumably, to ensure a certain level of government […]

By Wilmot George |February 25, 2010

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Liquidating life insurance

Life insurance is often an important tool for funding a liquidity event, such as the death of a business owner, as the proceeds can be used to immediately pay off creditors and provide often much-needed cash flow in a time of business uncertainty. Business owners who operate their business through a corporation often choose to […]

By Jamie Golombek |February 17, 2010

3 min read

Decorative pattern

A place in the sun

Canadians love Florida, especially its real estate. According to the U.S. National Association of Realtors, Canadians were the largest single group of foreign residential property buyers last year, accounting for 26% of all nonresident purchases. That’s not surprising when there is a sub-prime lending crisis, house prices remain 40% to 50% below peak levels in […]

By Michelle Munro |February 16, 2010

6 min read

Decorative pattern

The beauty of ETFs

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are less expensive than mutual funds by a wide margin. Embedded mutual fund distribution costs – paid to financial advisors for selling them – are most of the difference. Claymore is the only ETF sponsor in Canada paying advisors from a separate ETF series that is 0.50% to 0.75% more expensive. While […]

February 16, 2010

3 min read

Decorative pattern

RRSP plans in a post TFSA world

This Advisor.ca Special Report is sponsored by: Some clients may be coming up short for RRSP top-ups this spring, having maxed out their TFSA contributions early in the New Year. And who can blame them? Clients are bombarded by advertisements touting the benefits of the TFSA. More often than not, the TFSA marketing message has […]

By Kate McCaffery |February 11, 2010

4 min read

Decorative pattern

The battle between debt, retirement

This Advisor.ca Special Report is sponsored by: Quelle surprise. Canadians are showing less interest in their investments this year, preferring instead to pay down debt. It’s an interesting twist for those trying to keep clients on track with their retirement savings plans. A survey conducted in mid-December for Manulife Financial found the number of people […]

By Kate McCaffery |February 11, 2010

4 min read

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