It’s the New Year, and with the advent of 2012 the Canadian government has introduced some Canadian Pension Plan changes that may have a significant effect on your life and the way you, “choose to live, work and retire,” in Canada. At our Vancouver bookkeeping and accounting firm we often receive questions from clients about how [...]

Are you a U.S citizen living in Canada? You may not be aware of this, but if you are, then you are subject to exactly the same filing requirements that you would be subject to if you were living in the U.S. Many U.S. citizens living in Canada aren’t aware of filing requirements in their [...]

At Acton Accounting and Bookkeeping, we’re constantly trying to find ways to simplify our clients’ business and financial tracking needs. As a Vancouver accounting and bookkeeping services firm a pain point we hear a lot about from our clients is that they would really like to be able to monitor all of their finances in [...]

With summer a mix of more rain than shine here in Vancouver, BC, there are no doubt many business owners looking to get out of the city for awhile. It’s common knowledge that travel expenses incurred while on a business trip can be expensed back to your company, but what about when your on vacation [...]

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has been a touchy subject in British Columbia ever since it was introduced in July 2010. Since then, the public has launched multiple campaigns against the HST, citing that a 12% sales tax is just too much for consumers to pay. In fact, under the HST, families pay an average [...]

British Columbia Provincial Service Tax (PST) was charged on most new and used products and many services. As of February 21, 2007, registration and collection of PST was optional for those who had gross sales of qualifying goods and services in the past twelve months of $10,000 or less. As at July 1, 2010, PST [...]

Back to Accounting and Bookkeeping Services Goods and services tax (GST 5%) is a tax that applies on most supplies of goods and services made in Canada. Examples of goods and services for which GST is not charged and collected include: • Used residential housing • Long-term residential accommodation • Most health, medical, and dental [...]

Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) was implemented in Ontario and BC on July 1, 2010. The BC HST is to replace the existing PST, and GST at 12% for BC and 13% for Ontario. HST is administered by Canada Revenue Agency prior to July 1, 2010 in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. HST in [...]

Taxable or Non-Taxable? People don’t really know what’s exactly going on with the Harmonized Sales Tax. Here is a table to see what is taxable. Source: “Harmonized Sales Tax in Canada British Columbia Edition” prepared by BC’s CGAs. Please read it carefully. If you still have second thoughts regarding HST, please contact Acton Accounting and [...]

The Recession has had many detrimental effects on British Columbians for the last few years  and with the introduction of the HST many fear that the recession is more apparent than ever. Jim Sinclair President of the BC Federation of Labour states, “It’s the wrong tax, wrong time and for the wrong reasons.” He believes [...]