On the Money FINANCIAL NEWS AND ADVICE TAX EVASION EASY PAY
Canuck companies spend 131 hours on taxes
CANADA RANKS 2ND among the G7 countries (and 17th globally) for ease of paying corporate taxes, according to an annual report by PwC and the World Bank Group. On average, small to medium-sized Canadian companies make eight tax payments (vs. an average of 25 payments globally) per year and take 131 hours (vs. an average of 251 hours globally) to comply with tax requirements. The UK bested Canada as the top-ranked G7 economy, with companies putting an average 110 hours toward tax compliance. — TS
New twist on “tax is against my religion” claim
RODNEY TYMS-BEY ISN’T THE FIRST PERSON to try to get out of paying taxes based on his religious beliefs. But he is the first to do so under Indiana state’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which requires the government to first prove a compelling interest before it intrudes on a citizen’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Tyms-Bey, 41, an Indianapolis resident who owes about US$1,000 in back taxes, filed notice of his defence using the RFRA the day it was enacted by then Indiana Governor (now US Vice-President) Mike Pence in July 2015, but the court rejected his argument. Now the Indiana Court of Appeals will decide whether the religious freedom law is a valid defence for tax evasion. Interestingly, Tyms-Bey doesn’t specify his religious beliefs, or why his religion precludes the payment of taxes. — Tamar Satov
GENEROSITY INDEX
Charitable giving hits 10-year low
THE PERCENTAGE OF Canadians claiming charitable donations on their taxes — and the amount they’re giving as a percentage of their income — is the lowest it’s been in a decade, finds a Fraser Institute study. One in five (21.3%) Canadian tax filers claimed charitable donations in 2014, the last year of available data, down
from 25.1% in 2004. Moreover, the amount Canadians gave also shrank to a 10-year low: 0.56% of their income in 2014, down from 0.78% in 2006. — TS
52 | CPA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2017 DEBT FOR DUMMIES Broke due to bank error
AN AUSTRALIAN MAN learned the hard way that banks don’t give out free money. When an administrative error allowed Luke Moore, a 29-year-old student from New South Wales, to go more than $2 million into overdraſt, he went on a spending spree — buying luxury cars, boats, art and celebrity memorabilia. When the error was discovered, Moore was initially charged and convicted of fraud, but an appeal court judge overturned the decision saying Moore had not done anything to deceive the bank. Moore must, however, repay the money, leaving him destitute and living with his mother. — TS
HOUSE ENVY Mega-rich own 9 homes
WHILE MOST OF US are struggling to pay for just one house, the average US billionaire owns nine of them, according to a study from AIG Private Client Group. These ultra-high-net- worth clients have homes located in such locales as Mexico (14%), Bahamas (13%), England (12%), France (9%) and the Caribbean (9%). — TS
Marion County Sheriff’s Dept.
DegasMM/Getty
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