It’s tax season and when it comes to taxes, income isn’t quite as straightforward. In Canada, the type of income you earn matters a lot. I share more on how different types of income are taxed differently in Canada. I also share other useful articles and insights. Enjoy this issue and please remember to share this with everyone in your network:

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1. It’s Tax Time & It’s Time To Seek Insights…

It’s that time of the year again when we all have to file our personal taxes. Often, we simply go with the flow and file for compliance’s sake. We fail to seek insights, like:

• What’s my average tax rate?
• What’s my marginal tax rate?
• As a family unit, how much did we pay in taxes?
• Why did I get a refund?
• Why did I have to make a payment to CRA?
• What options do I have to improve my situation next year?
• Did I use tools like RRSP, TFSA, Insurance, etc to optimize my taxes?
• How can additional savings in taxes enhance my investments and returns?
• How can additional savings in taxes enhance my retirement planning?

When you don’t get insights, you end up paying more in taxes than you’re required to and a dollar lost in taxes today will not only cost you a dollar today, IT WILL COST YOU A MULTIPLE OF THAT DOLLAR OVER TIME! Learn how our personal tax services can help you get answers to these questions this tax season so you can file your 2024 taxes with INSIGHTS! Get the details here.

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2. Did You Know That Different Types Of Income Attract Different Tax Rates?

When it comes to taxes, the term “income” isn’t quite as straightforward as you might think. In Canada, there are four main distinct groups of income you may have as an individual with a variety of different tax implications. In some cases, you may have sources of income with zero tax! So, understanding this and arranging your affairs accordingly will enable you to enjoy tax breaks that most people don’t know about. You can read and learn more about this here.

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3. Do You Know That Your Corporate Tax Liability is due this Month?

If you have a corporation with a December 31 year-end, your corporate tax liability, if applicable, is due this month! So, it’s important that you know or at least estimate the taxes you owe and pay so you can avoid high interest charges. At GMS, we help corporations with their tax compliance work and we also provide other additional value-added services such as:

• Streamlining and automating the majority of your bookkeeping processes
• Doing a cash flow and budget analysis for your corporation
• Estimating corporate tax liability and developing a plan for installment payment of your taxes
• Corporate tax planning including how to invest corporate dollars and how to properly use insurance within your business to mitigate risk and plan for retirement
• Corporate restructuring to ensure you’re organized in the most tax-efficient way
• Remuneration planning to ensure you’re taking money out of your corporation in the most tax-efficient manner
• How to use your corporation as a nest egg for your retirement in a tax-efficient manner.
• And many more…

If you’re looking for solutions for your corporation consider working with me and my team at GMS Chartered Professional Accountants LLP. I invite you to book a complimentary time to chat with me here.

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4. Character vs. Competency

I recall a great discussion we had on the topic of Character vs. Competency and the compromises we make daily that chip away at our character at one of our weekly Leadership Impact Group. The discussion was based on the book, “Didn’t See It Coming” by Carey Nieuwhof. If you’re a professional like me, you will agree that we spend a lot of time developing our competencies - the years in school, the professional development training, podcasts, books, mentorship and coaching. We spend countless hours honing our craft and we do it with intention. Often, we don’t devote the same amount of time developing our character because we think that competency, not character, determines our capacity, our capacity to succeed in life.

Carey makes a brilliant case in his book that competency isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. He writes…

“All the competency in the world can’t compensate for a lack of character…You may be smart, but if people don't like you, they won’t want to work with you. You may be the best software developer in your field, but if you lie, people won’t trust you. You may be able to bring reams of cash into the company, but if you mistreat the people who work with you, they’ll leave or they’ll make sure you do. Lack of character kills careers, shatters families, ruins friendships, and destroys influence…”

He goes on to share five telltale signs that you may be compromising your character. I found them so insightful. Get all the details in this article.

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5. Join Us For A Rapid Chess Tournament this Saturday, March 22!

If you love the game of chess, we invite you to join us for a fun chess tournament this Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 10 AM in Mississauga, you can learn more about the event and register here.