In the headlines today: the “Harper Government announces new requirements for Canadians with offshore property and income”. Accountants have been waiting for this announcement in fear and trembling. The added work at tax time will not be insignificant.
I wonder how the new form will help catch “tax cheats”. If you’re a cheat, you were lying on the old T1135. How will the new one make it harder to lie? Or is the new form just for the sake of appearing to be Doing Something? Will this do anything more than increase compliance costs for honest Canadians?
On that note, is it just me, or is it more than a bit odd that the government would issue a press release for a new form that hasn’t even been released yet? I guess the optics of the recent revelations about offshore accounts for Canadians are bad enough that the government feels the need for a bit of counter spin.
By the way, CRA, if you are listening, please note that, if you really will ask for “the name of the specific foreign institution or other entity holding funds outside Canada” on the new form, be prepared for the fact that Canadians hold a significant portion of their “foreign property” in Canada at Canadian banks and brokerages!
Update 2013-06-28
According to this story, the new form will not require details about an investment if income from the investment is already reported on a T5.
