Private Corporations Dodge a Bullet with the 2018 Federal Budget
The Liberal Government’s Federal Budget was delivered by Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, on February 27, 2018. There had been much concern and speculation about the direction the budget would take with respect to the taxation of private corporations. This was due to a release of the Department of Finance in July 2017 which contained private corporation tax proposals which addressed areas of concern to the government involving, among other things, business owners holding passive investments inside of their corporation. There was speculation that if these proposals were implemented the effective tax rate on investment income earned by a private corporation and distributed to its shareholders could increase astronomically. Thankfully, the concerns voiced by business and professional groups following the July proposals were effective in moderating the government’s actions.
Cardinal Update – March 2018
FEDERAL BUDGET 2018 – TAXING PASSIVE INCOME – The federal government released a consultation paper last summer targeting tax planning strategies using private corporations. This proposal was met with strong criticism from the business community and resulted in some awkward town hall meetings for Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Five months after the close of the consultation period, we are being presented with a federal budget far less dramatic than originally feared. But there are still some material changes that we need to understand. One of the more impactful changes involves passive income earned within a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC). Passive income is earned on corporate investments separate from active business operations.
Click here to read more: Cardinal Update – March 2018
DM Monthly Report – March 2018
A FLOOD OF CASH? Since markets bottomed in March 2009, the most prolific net buyer of stocks has been corporations retiring their own shares. In fact, US companies have bought back about $3.5tn worth since 2010 and, if the nearly $2tn in dividends paid over that time is included the corporate handout to shareholders has dwarfed even the Fed’s massive and much more publicized quantitative easing program. While some of this repurchasing was paid for with debt, as companies took advantage of record low interest rates to reconfigure their balance sheets, the lion’s share was funded with internally generated cash.
Click here to read more: DM-Monthly-Report-March-18
Provisus Monthly Insight – March 2018
STOCK SECTORS AFTER RATE HIKES – Last year the Bank of Canada (BOC) implemented its first interest rate hike since 2010 and many investors reached for their crystal balls to try and forecast the future. While rising rates tend to signal stronger economic conditions and inflationary pressures, they can also have a meaningful impact on stock market sector returns. Changing the overnight interest rate, which is the cost that depository institutions pay to borrow money, is how the BOC attempts to control inflation. When the BOC increases the overnight rate, it does not directly affect the stock market but it does have a ripple effect that can rock the market. However some sectors benefit from interest rate hikes and others do not.
Click here to read more: Monthly Insight – March 2018 – Stock Sectors after Rate Hikes
