The 2016 Tax Breakfast was held on November 2 at the Verity Club in Toronto. The three speakers discussed trends in Canadian tax relevant to small- and medium-sized private business, their stakeholders, and high net worth groups.

Jordan Rose, Andrew Bernstein, Mark McGinnis and Elaine Pantel

Elaine Pantel welcomed the attendees and introduced the first speaker, Tax Manager Andrew Bernstein. Andrew spoke about where the CRA is focusing their audit efforts. He said the federal government is investing money in the CRA in order for them to ramp up their fraud-fighting operations, which is resulting in a greater number of audits. Andrew said there are certain things that will trigger an audit, such as unusually large claims or transactions, as well as the CRA's snitch line and 'audit spillovers', when another audit of a company or person leads to other companies/people. Andrew went on to give tips for avoiding an audit, and what to do if you are selected for an audit.

Partner Mark McGinnis discussed tax efficient financing tips for small private businesses. Mark discussed tips for making sure that any interest payments you or your company make are deductible, and any losses incurred are eligible to be claimed as losses for tax purposes.

Guest speaker Jordan Rose of the firm Useful Ideas spoke about tax changes in life insurance policies. Jordan focused on different insurance products and their uses; insights on tax changes in the insurance industry; and advanced strategies maintaining and growing wealth.

Contact us if you have any questions or would like to discuss these topics further.