tax relief posts

It's getting close to THAT time of year again when we realize that there are two things inevitable in life: death and taxes. Of course, it should be the other way around, it should be taxes first, and then we're taxed to death, but you get the picture.

And the government, through its Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), is cynical enough to not only remind us of the taxation part, but to tell us how to part with our money easier, safer and, galling most of all, cheaper, using their electronic tools instead of snail-mail.

File online and on time, they say.

Increases to the minimum wage in Canada hurt the very people they are supposed to help, according to a new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), an association for small to medium-sized businesses.

The group argues that provincially regulated increases to minimum wages cause small businesses to either cut jobs, reduce staff hours or postpone new hires. Using their own estimates, they say a 10% increase in minimum wages against all provinces would cost the Canadian economy up to 321,300 jobs.

"At a time when the economy is in slow recovery, the last thing governments should be considering are policies that further hinder job creation," said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB's Vice President for Saskatchewan and co-author of the report.