It is quite commonplace to focus the majority of our attention on the Federal government because we just assume that the Ontario provincial tax lawmakers will follow in their footsteps. For the most part this is true, but they do put their own plan of actions in place that focus on what they are facing with provincial issues.
One the latest issues is, the Provincial government is trying to determine tougher rules to stop companies from shifting their money overseas to avoid taxes. Now surely this sounds familiar doesn’t it considering all the media in the last little while about offshore accounts? Another issue that Ontario seems to be focusing on is the implementation of new business machines that can track merchant taxes better.
Then they are also scrutinizing the way that tax incentives are being utilized as there seems to be some issues with the rebate that is applicable to apprenticeships. This is causing the Provincial government to take a closer look at the potential credits across the board.
All of these actions are in an effort to build up the treasury funds by focusing on illegal tax activities. This level of Government is hoping that they the Government at the Federal level will come up with better strategies as well.
Every province tackles their tax program and implements tax measures differently. For example in Quebec they use a device called a black box that records sales data from cash registers. This measure was implemented to prevent businesses from cheating on their sales tax. According to the stats it is said that this measure save the Quebec Government $300 million a year in uncollected taxes.
Naturally we all want our various levels of Government to crack down on those that are avoiding taxes which just puts a heavier burden on the honest tax payers. The problem is though often it’s the honest ones that get caught in the cross fire of tax change.
It is important as a Canadian tax payer to stay in tune with what all levels of government are doing concerning the tax laws. Each of them in their own have a direct impact on how much tax you have to pay each year.
To avoid getting caught up in legal implications be sure to use a qualified Toronto tax accountant who is well versed in all levels of the Canadian tax laws.
