http://www.mnp.ca/media-centre/blog/tags/business-ownersBusiness Owners Blog Post RSS FeedCopyright 2012MNP All rights reserved.A recession can bring out the best and worst in everyone. The U.S. State governments are no exception. In the face of declining revenues, states frequently begin to more aggressively pursue opportunities to collect additional revenues.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/5/7/state-collection-efforts-is-a-soft-approach-preferred/Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 GMTThe 2009 Federal Budget increased the Small Business Deduction to $500,000 from $400,000, and many provinces have also raised their small business deduction limit to $500,000. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/6/11/the-small-business-deduction/Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMTA recent decision rendered by the Federal Court of Appeal (the “Court”) may impact the GST required to be collected, and that has been paid, on investment management fees.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/7/13/paying-gst-on-investment-management-fees/Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMTFaced with the current economic pressures, many firms are reacting by jumping to conclusions to protect profits.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/7/20/navigating-a-crisis-part-iii/Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMTIn an economic downturn, businesses must ensure their customers remain their number one priority.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/7/29/navigating-a-crisis-part-iv/Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMTWhenever I sit down with a client to discuss their business structures, a major concern that always pops up is post-retirement cash flow. Quite often our discussions will lead to the topic of individual pension plans.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/8/4/the-individual-pension-plan-part-i/Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMTThe IPP has many practical applications to reward key personnel and shareholder-managers.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/8/10/the-individual-pension-plan-part-ii/Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMTAre you an employer who pays benefits to your employees? Do you know how to account for the GST on those benefits? http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/8/10/gst-and-employee-benefits-allowances-and-reimbursements/Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMTHave you started your own business and are not sure about whether you should register for GST? You are able to voluntarily register for GST if you are carrying on a commercial activity. Either selling taxable goods or providing taxable services. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/8/31/when-to-register-for-gst/Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMTA summary of the B.C. budget update released September 1, 2009.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/9/8/bc-budget-update-september-1-2009/Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMTDo you live in one of the PST provinces (B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec or PEI), do you need to register for PST?http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/9/15/when-to-register-for-pst/Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMTOntario received $4 billion and British Columbia received $1.6 billion in transfer payments from the federal government if they agreed to harmonize their PST’s with the GST. How will this affect your business?http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/11/20/how-will-the-new-hst-affect-my-business-faq/Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMTIt is not uncommon for business owners to say “just pay a management fee equal to the loss”. This sounds easy enough to do; just write a cheque and make a journal entry. All done. Unfortunately, this rarely is within the scope of the tax laws. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/11/30/management-fees-easier-said-than-done/Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMTBill 53, also known as the Professional Corporations Statutes Amendment Act, 2009 passed through the Alberta legislature and was given Royal Assent on November 26, 2009. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/12/7/new-tax-legislation-for-alberta-professionals-becomes-law/Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMTIf you haven’t planned your transition to IFRS - the time to start is now! In part I of this II part series of blogs, I will highlight some of the key things you need to consider for your transition to IFRS, all to help ease the transition and save your company time and money.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/12/16/so-your-company-is-adopting-international-financial-reporting-standards-ifrs-part-i/Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMTIn part I of this blog series, I discussed the financial reporting impact of transitioning to IFRS for your company. In part II, I will discuss some additional impacts of converting your company’s financial statements to IFRS. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2009/12/18/so-your-company-is-adopting-international-financial-reporting-standards-ifrs-part-ii/Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMTThere are numerous benefits of including family members as owners in the business, and many of these benefits can be linked to income splitting opportunities.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/2/23/family-members-as-owners-of-the-family-business/Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMTJuly 1 will be a very important day for Canadian businesses in 2010, as it is the first day of the Harmonized Sales Tax in B.C. and Ontario. Although the new taxation scheme will have a great impact on business owners in those two provinces, it also has repercussions for companies in other provinces, and the time to plan for them is running out.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/4/8/harmonized-sales-tax-hst-question-answer/Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTThe first step in taking advantage of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) SR&ED tax credit incentives is to determine if you are performing qualified SR&ED work. But how do you know if you're doing qualified work? The first thing to figure out is whether or not you have performed a technological advancement. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/4/27/just-what-exactly-is-a-technological-advancement-in-the-sred-program/Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMTOrganizations may find themselves asking: “What are the consequences if I do not comply with Bill 168?” Non-compliance with Bill 168 will be subject to fines and penalties that currently exist with respect to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/5/31/bill-168-workplace-violence-part-2-making-your-organization-compliant/Mon, 31 May 2010 00:00:00 GMTCompliance to Bill 168 begins with a risk assessment. A risk assessment evaluates the risks of workplace violence that may arise from the nature of the workplace, the type of work or the conditions of work. A risk assessment begins with the identification of current risks.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/6/7/bill-168-workplace-violence-part-3-conducting-your-workplace-violence-risk-assessment/Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMTUpon completion of the workplace violence Risk Assessment, the second step towards compliance is the development of policies and programs which address workplace violence and harassment. Well-drafted policies can provide employees information regarding what constitutes harassment or violence and how to report incidents.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/6/21/bill-168-workplace-violence-part-4-creating-policies-programs/Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMTWithout training surrounding workplace violence and harassment, employees do not know what to do in the event of an incident or how to prevent violence before it happens. Providing training is another step to compliance with Bill 168. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/6/28/bill-168-workplace-violence-part-5-develop-implement-training-programs/Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMTOnce all the corporate assets of the company have been adjusted from their reported net book value to their respective fair market values, the CBV will assess if any of those corporate assets are not required in order to generate the expected future operating cash flow.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/8/18/net-tangible-asset-value-part-2-redundant-assets/Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMTThis is perhaps the least well understood adjustment, the CBV may look at the difference between the existing and the optimal capital structure of the company as at the Valuation Date. For clarity, a company has two primary sources of capital, debt and equity, and the capital structure is probably best expressed as the debt to equity ratio.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/9/1/net-tangible-asset-value-part-3-the-value-of-leverage/Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMTLet’s set the scene – you're an entrepreneur; you have a spouse who isn’t working and you are about to have your first child. You currently have no staff, but your business is expanding rapidly and you need to hire some employees and they're going to want medical and dental coverage. What plan is right for your business' taxation needs?http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/12/7/is-a-private-health-services-plan-right-for-your-business-taxation-needs/Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMTIndividual Pension Plans (IPPs) are an excellent vehicle for business owners to save for retirement on a tax effective basis. We're going to focus on one particular benefit of IPPs, referred to as terminal funding. This is a large contribution opportunity which arises when the business owner retires.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2010/12/28/ipp-terminal-funding/Tue, 28 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMTWhen the current generation wishes to transfer growth to the next generation to limit the exposure to taxes on death, they will almost always look at using an estate freeze. If the individuals own assets personally that are accruing value, the assets would normally be transferred to a corporation to effect the estate freeze.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/1/11/deviations-on-the-typical-estate-freeze/Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMTAfter much speculation, anticipation and the usual political rhetoric, the US Congress finally passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The Act will affect most US taxpayers, including the many Canadian individuals and businesses that are subject to US taxation.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/1/19/us-tax-relief-unemployment-insurance-reauthorization-and-job-creation-act-of-2010/Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMTGiven the significant increases in land and quota values over the last number of years, it is becoming increasingly difficult to transfer the family farm at fair market value. This tax-deferred rollover can be an invaluable tool in succession planning and benefit future generations.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/1/26/transitioning-the-family-farm/Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe Canadian Income Tax Act (“the Act”) allows vendors of shares of a qualifying small business corporation to claim a deduction from taxable income. This deduction, commonly referred to as the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (“LCGE”) is more difficult to access than one might expect.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/2/15/so-you-want-to-claim-your-capital-gains-exemption/Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMTAmong professionals, the group most susceptible to fraud is dental practices. We'll go over the reasons why dentists are at risk more than any other professionals group and discuss what dentists can do to protect themselves and their practice.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/2/16/anti-fraud-issues-for-dental-practices/Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMTIf you own a Canadian business, you have probably heard something about the capital gain deduction (or capital gain exemption). In my practice, clients are often surprised to learn it is not available to all businesses in all situations.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/2/17/using-your-capital-gain-deduction/Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe Place of Supply rules are necessary to determine the appropriate rate of tax to charge. Under the GST/HST system if you are registered for these taxes, it is the requirement of the person selling the good or supplying the service to charge the correct rate of tax.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/10/a-case-study-on-hst-part-i-place-of-supply-rules/Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTMotion 601 may finally allow world-class Canadian wine to flow from coast to coast and open the doors to increased revenue for wineries.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/16/motion-601-has-legs/Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTContinuing our discussion of Game Company located in Red Deer, Alberta- the question we will answer is with regards to the tax rate applied to the purchase of supplies.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/22/a-case-study-on-hst-part-ii-gsthst-rates-on-supplies/Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTFederal Minister of Finance James M. Flaherty delivered the Conservative government’s Federal Budget on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/22/federal-budget-announcement-2011/Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTFinance Minister Ken Krawetz presented Saskatchewan’s 2011 Provincial Budget on March 23, 2011.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/23/saskatchewan-budget-announcement-2011/Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTFor tax purposes, a partnership is not considered a taxpayer, but rather an entity that calculates and allocates its taxable income to its partners. The partners then include this allocation in their taxable income in the year containing the fiscal year end of the partnership.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/3/25/federal-budget-brings-changes-to-corporate-partnerships/Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe vast majority of the market is made of people who won’t buy until someone else buys first. Sales take off when you get the early majority on side, but you can’t get there unless your message resonates with the early adopters. You can capture these people by switching your focus from what to why.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/4/6/forget-the-what-when-selling-wine/Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTFinance Minister Rosann Wowchuk presented Manitoba’s 2011 Provincial Budget on April 12, 2011. http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/4/12/manitoba-budget-announcement-2011/Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMTA financial planner contact recently brought a new client to me. The client (“Bob”) was investigating incorporating his business and wanted to understand the benefits. Bob had built his business over the last 8 years and was looking at selling within the next 5 years. He already had potential purchasers asking: “would you consider selling?”http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/5/3/incorporating-your-business-am-i-too-late/Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 GMTIf you’re a dentist, you’ve told your patients that good hygiene is one of the most important things they can do to maintain the health of their teeth. But has anyone ever told you that developing a good hygiene practice is also one of the easiest and most important things you can do to maintain and improve the value of your dental practice?http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/6/8/the-value-of-good-hygiene/Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTWhether the purchaser is an arm’s length entity, group of key employees or a family member, at some point all owners of successful businesses will consider the sale of their business and the resulting tax consequences.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/6/21/selling-owner-managed-businesses-tips-and-traps/Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMTA question business owners often ask is whether minor children should be shareholders in the family business corporation. Usually, this is a tax motivated question, in that the higher income parents wish to access the lower marginal tax rate of their minor children.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/9/27/should-you-have-minor-children-as-shareholders-of-your-family-business/Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe majority of families in Canada look forward to a vacation as a time to get away from the everyday routine of work and school and to relax and spend time with the family. In today’s economy, a business that could offer some potential savings to make a family’s vacation more affordable will be seen as being an attractive option.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/10/14/have-the-government-help-pay-for-your-vacation/Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMTTaking a balanced approach to ensure you are prepared to overcome obstacles and meet your business goals allows your oilfield services company to contend with the changing landscape.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/10/19/taking-a-balanced-strategic-approach-to-management/Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMTThe HST was voted out in B.C. Businesses in the province must transition back to collecting and paying PST and GST—a process that will have its own complexities that need to be carefully managed. The good news is that the transition may also benefit you.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/11/1/hst-in-bc-helping-you-manage-the-transition-back-to-pst/Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMTDue to proposed changes by the Federal Government, the rules regarding a corporation carrying on a PSB (personal service business) just became a lot more expensive, tax-wise.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/11/23/income-tax-on-a-psb-a-halloween-trick-from-the-federal-government/Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMTWhen it comes to owner-managed corporations, the salary vs. dividends compensation conundrum is one of the most frequently discussed topics between clients and their accountants. There are clear advantages and disadvantages to both, but choosing which is right for you will depend on a number of personal factors and preferences.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/12/9/salary-vs-dividends-which-is-right-for-you/Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMTWhen you sell your oilfield services business, it’s critical that you are able to sell for as high a multiple as possible.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/12/14/increasing-the-value-of-your-oilfield-service-business/Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMTIf you’re doing R&D to provide the same product at a lower cost; improve packaging, environmental sustainability, or web-based customer interaction; establish traceability; or develop functional or anti-allergenic foods, you may be eligible for the SR&ED tax credit.http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2012/4/23/2012-federal-budget-is-ripe-for-innovation-for-the-canadian-agri-food-industry/Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT