We all like to complain about having to pay taxes, but we also know there is no way out of it. Unless you of course want to sit home and just learn to live on a minimum amount of money and have no plans to get ahead in life financially.
It is really unfortunate that many people have lost their enthusiasm to work hard so they can get ahead because they have adopted the attitude that the harder they work it only means the more they have to pay to the CRA.
If you consider that paying taxes is a battle then maybe approaching your tax situation that way will help you to get ahead of the Canada tax crunch. That doesn’t mean that we are going to be suggesting ways for you to avoid taxes, but to the contrary, we are going to suggest that you be creative with your tax obligations and make them work to your best advantage.
You know that the best way to beat your enemy is to know them. If you consider the tax department as such then it makes sense to get to know them. Now this is a huge task that most people don’t have the time or expertise to complete. The tax laws are complex and trying to understand them can be a full time job. You do have a resource available to you though which is a quality tax accountant. This is their full time job. Utilize this resource as your means of getting to know the CRA.
By doing this you will know what you can and cannot do in regards to your taxes. Then it becomes a two fold approach.
First by knowing what you can do with the help of your accountant you can implement all of the steps necessary to reduce your taxes as much as possible. If it is personal taxes then it means taking advantage of all the potential tax credits. If it is business taxes then it means looking for the tax incentives that may be present for your specific type of business and seeing if you can implement them.
So the first step is geared towards knowing what you can do to reduce your tax obligation. The second steps involves knowing what you cannot do, so you do not escalate your tax situation.
You know of course that you have to file your taxes on time. What you may not know is that if you don’t it means that interests and penalties are now adding up to what you owe the tax department. You may have ignored the CRA’s demand that you pay your taxes by installments. What you may not realize is that if you don’t then you are going to be charged with penalties and interest here as well.
It all begins with knowledge if you want to be tax savvy. Why not give Sam Seidman a call here at Toronto accountant and put his tax knowledge to work for you.
