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Tax thought leadership roundup (Fall 2015)

Keep up with the latest thinking on tax from CPAs in Canada with our latest roundup of tax-related alerts, articles, white papers and thought leadership releases.

Here you’ll find a selection of recent tax-related alerts, articles, white papers and thought leadership releases by members of Canada’s tax community. For even more insights and resources, follow the links below to the tax websites of Canada’s seven largest professional services firms and to their tax rates and research tools and apps.

GENERAL INTEREST

The CRA’s position on digital transactions (BDO)

As digital currencies such as bitcoins rise in popularity, their lack of control by any central bank or government and their potential for anonymous use has caught the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s eye. Find out how the CRA thinks bitcoin transactions in the digital domain should be taxed and the business impact of the CRA’s position.

Alberta’s changing tax rates:

Alberta Hikes 2015 Personal and Corporate Taxes (KPMG)

In advance of a budget expected later this fall, Alberta’s new government has introduced tax rate increases and other changes in line with campaign promises made in the run-up to the province’s election on May 5, 2015.

Privately speaking — August 2015 (Deloitte)

Read the first edition of this monthly newsletter for privately owned business owners for an update on Alberta’s changing tax rates and related tax planning opportunities.

CORPORATE TAX

The big tables: Helping you understand Canada’s tax incentive landscape for digital media and film projects (PwC)

Interactive maps of Canada lead you through overviews of federal and provincial/territorial tax credits available for digital media, animation, film and video production.

Resource Companies — Drill Down into New Tax Reporting Regime (KPMG)

Find out about Natural Resources Canada’s consultations on the new requirements for resource companies’ annual reports to disclose information on tax and other payments they make to Canadian and foreign governments under the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act.

Tax Accounting — 2015 Snapshot of Q2 Tax Rates (KPMG)

If you’re involved in preparing financial reports for corporations or other organizations, you may need to reflect certain 2015 income tax changes in your interim period or year-end financial statements.

OWNER-MANAGED BUSINESSES

CRA audit initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (BDO)

How does the CRA select a business for audit? How does the audit approach for smaller enterprises differ from larger organizations? What will the auditor examine during an audit? This article answers these questions and more.

New rules benefiting small businesses (Grant Thornton)

Small business owners and their tax advisers should take note of a number of federal budget measures that will ease their tax burden, along with another change that increases the tax rate on dividends received from small businesses.

INDIRECT TAXES

Election for nil consideration — tips, traps and considerations (BDO)

A special GST/HST election allows eligible, closely related corporations and partnerships to not charge sales tax on their taxable transactions with members of their group. Read about some tips, traps and things to keep in mind when making the election.

PERSONAL TAX

Introduction of the Home Accessibility Tax Credit (Grant Thornton)

Find out if you or your tax clients quality for the new tax credit on up to $10,000 a year spent on eligible renovations to improve the safety or accessibility of your home.

New RRIF and TFSA Rules — Benefiting Seniors and Savers (Grant Thornton)

Learn the details of the 2015 budget’s increase of the contribution limit for Tax-free Savings Accounts and decrease of mandatory withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income Funds.

CHARITIES AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS

2015 budget offers good news for the charity sector (Grant Thornton)

Welcome measures for the charitable sector provide them with more flexibility to diversify their investments and include a proposal to exempt certain donations involving private company shares and real estate from capital gains tax.

INTERNATIONAL TAX

2015 Global Oil and Gas Tax Guide (EY)

Exporting countries around the world are reconsidering how they tax the oil and gas industry in the wake of ongoing oil price volatility. Catch up with recent changes with EY’s summaries of the oil and gas corporate tax regimes in 84 countries.

2015 Worldwide Cloud Computing Tax Guide (EY)

Cloud computing has a borderless quality that creates complexity for taxing jurisdictions. Find out about the cloud computing corporate tax regimes in 121 countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Complexity Tree (Deloitte)

This five-part video series, featured on a new Transfer Pricing webpage, describes the changing landscape for transfer pricing and financial transactions taking place within multinational corporations.

Payroll withholding requirements

Find out about changes released in July 2015 to the 2015 federal budget measures that ease payroll withholding requirements for foreign employers with non-resident employees temporarily working in Canada:

Canadian payroll relief clarified for foreign employers with frequent business travellers to Canada (PwC)

More clarification on tax withholding obligations for non-resident employers with frequent business travellers to Canada (EY)

ACCOUNTING FIRMS — TAX PAGES

TAX APPS

TAX NEWSLETTERS, RATES AND RESEARCH TOOLS