October 2009 Archives

CCPA video on Canada's growing income gap

Over the past two years the CCPA has released numerous reports about the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us. Now the CCPA has launched a video that draws on these reports to tell the story of Canada's income gap.

For more information, see the CCPA web site at:
http://www.policyalternatives.ca

CRA Tax tip: Self-correct misallocated payments

The following tax tip is available on the Canada Revenue Agency Web Site:

Did you know...

You can use My Business Account to transfer payments and credits within your goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST), corporation income tax, excise tax, excise duty, excise tax on insurance premiums, air travellers security charge, and softwood lumber products export charge accounts? "Transfer Payment" allows you to transfer amounts from one interim period to another or pay an amount owing.

If you have an amount available for transfer, you can select the "Transfer Payment" option under "Account balance and activities," submit and confirm the transfer details, and see the updated account balance and interest amounts immediately. If the amount you want to transfer has already been applied to an assessed period, you can request a transfer through My Business Account's "Make online requests" service.

My Business Account provides secure, convenient access to your business accounts seven days a week. Go to www.cra.gc.ca/mybusinessaccount and see what other services may be useful to you.

Think green, act green!

For more information on this or other CRA Tax Tips, visit:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/txtps/2009/tt091013-eng.html

Alberta Tax Notes - October 2009 issue

The October 2009 issue of Alberta Finance and Enterprise, Tax and Revenue Administration's Tax Notes is now available in PDF format at:
http://www.finance.alberta.ca/tax_notes/Publications/2009_1001.pdf

Individuals and businesses can now pay their federal taxes online

The following news release is available on the Canada Revenue Agency web site:

The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture and Agri-Food), announced the launch of a new online service at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

"Taxpayers and businesses can now send payments to the Canada Revenue Agency instantly from their accounts at participating financial institutions using the new My Payment service," said Minister Blackburn. "This new service is yet another achievement aimed at reducing the paperwork and compliance burdens for Canadians."

The new My Payment service is safe and uses the existing security of your online banking services. It is also private—no sensitive tax or banking information will be shared between the CRA and a financial institution.

Minister Blackburn added that "My Payment ends the inconvenience of timing payments to arrive on the right day by mail by crediting CRA accounts at once for payment transfers. The service also ends the hassle of monitoring outstanding cheques to avoid non-sufficient-funds transactions, by only allowing payments when funds are immediately available from your account." This service will equally benefit businesses of all sizes and individual taxpayers.

My Payment is accessed using a portal on the CRA Web site. The service lets individuals and businesses send payments electronically through a secure link with Canadian financial institutions who offer Interac® Online payment service. Currently, those institutions include the following: BMO Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, and RBC Royal Bank. This new service will be available on October 5, 2009.

Transactions completed through My Payment can contain several payments for a combination of both individual and business accounts at the CRA. Payments can be made from a personal or a corporate bank account at a participating financial institution.

For more information on this or other CRA news releases, see:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m10/nr091002-eng.html