Quotes of the Day

The industrialized, processed food that you find in your local grocery store has been acidified, its pH has been lowered, and its micronutrient viability has been significantly reduced. Even cooking some plant-based foods—such as broccoli and zucchini—can strip them of certain antioxidants, such as vitamin C. This is why it’s important to avoid processed foods and replace them with plenty of organic, minimally cooked fruits and vegetables (steaming is my preferred option). I also recommend that whenever you eat eggs, dairy, or meat, it should ideally be organic and come from a grass-fed animal to ensure that your diet is balanced in macronutrients and that you are getting all the micronutrients your body needs. [2017] - Jonathan Aviv

Ideally, your marginal tax rate at the time you contribute to an RRSP should be higher than it will be when you start drawing an income from those savings. To measure the impact with precision, you would need sophisticated tax-optimization software, the type that is being developed by a firm called mygoals. Tax efficiency is the main reason for splitting contributions between an RRSP and a TFSA. Another reason is that you never know when you may have to dig a little deeper for some emergency spending in retirement. If you withdraw a large lump sum from your RRSP, it could catapult you into a higher-income tax bracket. You can avoid that by withdrawing the necessary funds from a TFSA instead. [2021] - Frederick Vettese

If the number of first-time homebuyers is trending significantly downward, while at the same time the number of repeat buyers is on the rise, this is a clear sign of the speculation at play in the market. The level of first-time homebuyers tends to peak during the middle of the boom phase and then decline until the middle to end of the slump phase. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

The Income Tax Act grants to CRA a number of arbitrary powers. The Minister doesn't have to accept your return as filed. In fact, under Section 152(7), CRA has the right to change your tax return if they don't agree with the way you've filed it. They can change your income figures, your deductions or your credits prior to the expiration of a normal "reassessment period," which is 3 years. If you don't agree with how your tax return has been assessed, you have the right to appeal the results. [2020] - Evelyn Jacks

Thanks to the tax treaty between Canada and the U.S., Uncle Sam will refrain from taxing U.S. dividend income received inside an RRSP (or RRIF, for that matter). But that doesn’t extend to TFSAs. You’ll be dinged with a 15 percent tax deducted at source for dividends paid on U.S. stocks held in a TFSA. You don’t have to worry about interest income or capital gains from U.S. stocks, though. The tax treaty guarantees those are only taxable in Canada, which means they’re tax-free in a TFSA. [2021] - Erica Alini