The process of adopting a child is often a lengthy one, in which a myriad of requirements must be met and legal processes followed. Where the adoption is an international one, the process can be even lengthier and more complex, as often the legal requirements of more than one government must be satisfied, and international travel is required.
Most Canadians, understandably, think of our income tax system as a government “program” that takes money out of their paycheques and out of their pockets. And, while it’s certainly true that virtually every Canadian who earns an income must allocate a portion of that income to paying federal and provincial personal income taxes, that’s not the whole picture. Our tax system does, in fact, provide Canadians with a number of direct benefits, through a variety of tax credit and benefit programs which actually put money into the hands of Canadians. And since that money can be obtained with minimal effort (and be received tax-free) it’s a win-win for the recipient.
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, they need an organization, volunteers, and money – a lot of money. To wage the federal election held last month, the major political parties needed to raise and spend millions of dollars. Their task of raising that money was undoubtedly made somewhat easier by the fact that Canadian taxpayers who donate money to political parties or candidates can obtain some tax benefit from doing so.
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2024 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:
While the way in which post-secondary learning is delivered may have changed and changed again over the past three and a half years, as the pandemic waxed and waned and finally ended, the financial realities of post-secondary education have not.
The obligation to complete and file a tax return – and to pay any balance of taxes owed – recurs each spring with what probably seems to many taxpayers to be annoying regularity.
By the time most Canadians sit down to organize their various tax slips and receipts and undertake to complete their tax return for 2020, the most significant opportunities to minimize the tax bill for the year are no longer available.
