Tax

HRTC explained

Last month I had the exterior of my home painted and took care of some much needed landscaping. But this time around, no more barefoot shoemaker; I’m following my own advice and taking advantage of a tax incentive – The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC). You too must remind your homeowner clients the home improvements […]

By Gena Katz |January 1, 2010

3 min read

Organizing endowments is tricky

Endowments aren’t usually the first thing that come to advisors’ minds when they think about strategies for their clients. But the fact of matter is, the clients you want – the affluent most likely have some philanthropic goals, and helping achieve them will only enhance your practice. Structuring and managing an endowment was the central […]

By Mark Noble |January 1, 2010

9 min read

Improving probate planning

A very useful tool for a trustee to tax-manage a trust, whether inter vivos or testamentary, is to employ elections for allocating tax liability on income. Subject to the trust terms and the Income Tax Act, income may be retained in the trust or paid out to a beneficiary, with associated taxes either paid by […]

January 1, 2010

1 min read

The beauty of ETFs

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are less expensive than mutual funds by a wide margin. Embedded mutual fund distribution costs – paid to financial advisors for selling them – are most of the difference. Claymore is the only ETF sponsor in Canada paying advisors from a separate ETF series that is 0.50% to 0.75% more expensive. While […]

January 1, 2010

3 min read