Most everyone would rather find other ways to spend their money than have to give it to the government by way of taxes. This line of thinking leads them to looking for tax shelters. Due to the recent revelations of off shore tax shelters and the big trouble that many people got themselves into, it has now created a stigma towards looking at tax shelters. If you are a Torontonian and you think this is something that you would like to consider then you really need a Toronto tax accountant that has the expertise and experience to keep you well within the tax law.
It is important that you find someone trustworthy to look after your finances if you have excess income that puts you in a high tax bracket. It is easy to fall into a tax shelter scheme that just may not be legal. The Canadian Government is sure to scrutinize these far more closely now with the off shore tax scandal that has occurred. There are many different ways that people will invest in a tax shelter aside from the off shore accounts. This is a very complex area of the tax law and is not one that anyone should delve into without some good knowledge and a credible accountant to advise them.
The Canadian Government doesn’t view all tax shelters as illegal, and in fact you may have been involved in one and you don’t realize it. The Government will often create tax shelters as an incentive to help the economy. A good example of this is when the Canadian Government offered tax incentives for the production of Canadian Television programs to help thwart off outside influence.
The easiest explanation of a tax shelter is that it is an organized program. One which anyone who pays taxes no matter what their tax bracket, can participate in to help reduce their income. Of course these are more lucrative for those that find themselves in the high income tax bracket.
The really important thing to realize is that there are very tight rules and a legal tax shelter has to have an identification number assigned to it by the CRA. The best course of action you can take is to talk to your tax accountant first before every considering any type of shelter. There are many other areas of tax planning that he can assist you with to help reduce your tax obligations. Plus, there are many incentives and potential credits that may be available to you.
Contact us here at Toronto Accountant and lets discuss your tax matters.
