I am noticing the proliferation of hair salons in the Downtown Vancouver area and I can’t help but think that they are in for a challenging time. Retail commercial rent is sky high, escalating real estate price and cost of living in general has reduced the city's discretionary income pool, and as a consequence Vancouverites are relocating to the more affordable surrounding suburbs. To add to these challenges, the industry has little barriers to entry – it doesn't take a long time or a lot of ... Read More
Feeling tax fatigue? Mew and Company Chartered Accountants can help!
“The difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” –Will Rogers. Will Rogers hit the right chord with his quote. All taxpayers will agree that there is nothing worse than continuously paying an amount of earnings and hard-earned income as taxes to the government, without ever seeing the end of it. The percentage constantly increases, as the burden of rectifying ongoing economic strife is laid increasingly on the common man. As if that wasn't ... Read More
Filing Canadian Corporate Tax and HST Returns on Time
Just File Your Canadian Tax Return on Time! During the past year, I have noticed that Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) is putting more pressure on Canadian corporations to file their corporate tax and HST returns on time. The tactics being used by CRA include constant reminder notices being sent soon after the filing deadline has passed as well as withholding HST and/or corporate tax refunds until all of the business' filings are current. As a Vancouver chartered accountant, I don’t mind the ... Read More
Choose Your Professional Vancouver Accountant with Care
When an incorporated business in Vancouver calls asking for professional representation for a CRA audit, the first question I ask myself is “Why is the person who was paid to prepare the tax return not doing the representing?” A very common answer is something like “My wife who is not a professional accountant prepared the tax return. She does not have the knowledge to deal with the CRA.” However, this year, I received an unexpected answer: “My accountant has been charged with fraud." The ... Read More
Vancouver Business Tax Audit – When CRA Comes Knocking
If your Vancouver business receives a letter from the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency) asking for documentation to support an HST or corporate tax return, it is not a good idea to deal with the matter on your own. Hire a Vancouver chartered accountant to represent you during the business tax audit. First of all, CRA auditors are accountants. When they request information, they basically expect to see accounting information, not a lengthy verbal explanation on why your HST return for this year is ... Read More
Vancouver Corporate Reorganization and Tax Planning
Corporate reorganization involving the exchange of shares is a very powerful and versatile tax planning tool. The simplest and most common corporate reorganization method involves the shareholder of a corporation exchanging all of his/her shares in one class of existing shares, for shares of another authorized class. The primary focus of the share exchange is the “freezing” of the current fair market value of the shares given up by the shareholder, who is referred to as the "transferor". In ... Read More
How Vancouverites Can Avoid a Tax Audit
Whether you are an individual taxpayer or a corporate taxpayer, a call from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will surge your anxiety. Most calls from the CRA are benign. Usually, they're calling to inquire about an outstanding return or a figure your professional accountant has put in the wrong box. But according to CRA, for the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years, 87,000 small and medium enterprises were audited. CRA uses a computer system to assess taxpayers, assigning them a risk factor of high, ... Read More
