Salary vs Dividends: What Should I Take as a Business Owner

As a business owner, you are in the enviable position of being able to receive a salary, a dividend or some combination thereof. Although tax considerations weigh heavily in this decision there are other qualitative and quantitative factors to consider before deciding on what form your remuneration should take. Advantages of a Salary Corporations working […]

Shareholder Loans Tips and Traps

One principle of our tax system is that a shareholder cannot take out money from their corporation without tax consequences.  Three common ways a shareholder withdraws money from a corporation are:  Salaries Dividends Loans The first two methods are taxable in the hands of the shareholder in the year received. It stands to reason that […]

Estate Management 101 Checklist

The following is a list created to assist you in managing the affairs of deceased individual. It is imperative that you start working through this list as soon as possible as some of the procedures you will request will take time for the various organisations contacted to process.

Donating Public Company Shares to Charity

It is the time of year when we start to think about ways to minimize income tax. One easy way is to donate to registered charities. The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) and Revenu Québec provide generous incentives for such donations. Individuals are entitled to a credit against their taxes and corporations may reduce their income […]

COVID-19 | Help For Restaurant Owners

On February 1, 2022, the Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development, Mr. Pierre Fitzgibbon, confirmed that restaurateurs will continue to be eligible for the AERAM program, notably through a loan forgiveness under the PAUPME.

Family Business Governance 101

Family business governance is the formalization of your family business. You may want to add or update certain components, such as the advisory board, the family council and family business constitution, to the governance your family business.

Estate Freeze as an Estate Planning Tool

An estate freeze is one of the more common estate planning tax strategies. When an individual shareholder holds shares of a private corporation, a ‘freeze” can be used to lock in the current value of the individual’s estate, which ultimately defers tax when the shares of the company pass to the next generation.