Corkum Arsenault

Table of Contents - Our Articles and Newsletters
On this page of our Web site, you will find a number of articles covering various business, tax and personal financial planning topics. This is a Table of Contents......

Nursing Home Assistance in PEI - Updated Rules Effective December 2012
Will you be eligible for financial assistance for nursing home care in Prince Edward Island, and how is your eligibility determined?...

Family Trusts for Business Owners
The goal of this newsletter is to explain how family trusts may be used by business owners to achieve certain objectives. Everyone, business owners or not, can use trusts as estate planning t...

2013 Combined Federal and Provincial Marginal Tax Brackets for PEI
These rates apply to regular income, such as employment, interest and business income. Taxable Canadian dividends are taxed at lower rates, and only 50% of capital gains are taxable. Th...

Medical Expenses - What can you Claim?

You may claim a tax credit for medical expenses when preparing your income tax return. How much is it worth to you? What qualifies as a medical expense? Our firm has identified th...

Financial Advice for Young Adults
It is never too early to start thinking about your financial affairs. This article offers some tips and guidance for young adults....

Questions To Ask Before Buying A Mutual Fund

Many investors purchase mutual funds without fully understanding the nature, risks and benefits of these products. The questions below are designed to assist you in making a decision wh...

2012 Combined Federal and Provincial Marginal Tax Brackets for PEI
These rates apply to regular income, such as employment, interest and business income. Taxable Canadian dividends are taxed at lower rates, and only 50% of capital gains are taxable. These...

Deceased Taxpayers - Executor's Checklist of Requirements for Tax Return Preparation
Being an executor can be a tough job. One of those jobs is preparing the final tax returns, and we provide this checklist to help you get ready to meet with us....

Address Change and Contact Checklist - Moving and/or Death Notification
Being an executor can be a tough job, and ensuring you have notified everyone is one of those tasks. We hope this checklist will assist you (not only in your role as executor but also when you n...

Where is Everything? Schedule of Important Documents

Help out your family and executors. Print and fill out this schedule to tell them where to find your important information, and keep it with your Will and Power of Attorney....

Financial Planning Information Sheet - Information to Bring to Your First Meeting
If you are coming to see us, fill out this form to give us a quick snapshot of your financial situation. Most important - write down your specific questions so we can have an efficient and effec...

Financial Oversight Checklist for Business Owners and Treasurers
Many business owners are too focused on operating their business, making sales and supervising their employees to keep a close eye on financial reporting. However, even if your financial reco...

Internal Control Checklist for Small Businesses and Non-Profit Entities
Are you concerned about losing some of your hard earned dollars through errors or dishonesty? If not, you should be! Government and large companies have the resources to put systems of ...

Tricks or Treats of Financial Planning
As a financial planner, I have seen many individuals who have been “sold” on an investment approach by a financial advisor that really made no sense. I liken it to Hallowe'en, for i...

Wills Checklist - Advice on Preparation of Your Last Will and Testament
Do you have a Last Will and Testament? Is your Will comprehensive enough? This is a checklist of matters to consider for inclusion in your Last Will and Testament....

Transfers of Canadian Real Estate Involving Non-Residents
There are at least three common situations that individuals should be aware of if they are involved in cross-border transactions. The topic of this article is sale of property that is real estate (no...

Critical Tax and Financial Issues for PEI Business Owners
There are critical issues that every business owner should know. These are some of them! Know them, plan around them, and call us for advice....

Sources of Financing for Businesses in P.E.I.
Whether starting a business, expanding or facing a cash crunch, finding a source of financing may be a challenge. This article looks at sources to borrow (as of September 2006)...

Finding Hidden Income - Analysis of Self-Employment Income
The goal of this article is to identify the common ways that self-employment income may be understated, either deliberately or inadvertently. This article was written to assist professionals in deter...

Privacy Statement
This Privacy Policy sets out the principles and procedures that we follow in meeting our privacy commitments to you and complying with the requirements of federal and provincial privacy legislation....

Vehicles - Common Tax Tips and Traps
Tax rules related to vehicle use are complicated. This is an overview of some issues you should consider....

Deductibility of Association and Membership Dues
Are your individual association and membership dues deductible? Many people mistakenly believe that all dues are deductible....

Being A Director - Is It An Honour?
When you become a director of a corporation or a non-profit organization, you may be appointed because people respect your opinions and abilities. However, you are accepting a number of responsibi...

Business Management - Bookkeeping Issues
Appropriate bookkeeping is required for adequate management and to meet legal responsibilities. Consider the following bookkeeping issues....

Do you Need Financial Planning Advice? Answer these questions!
Financial planning is the process of organizing financial matters to achieve your goals in life. Are you organizing your affairs well enough to meet your objectives?...

Tax Issues for Small Business
There are a number of tax matters that entrepreneurs should consider when starting a business....

Tax Audits and Business - What to Expect in a Business Tax Audit
Our guidelines in dealing with tax auditors...

Tax Planning for Estate Purposes - Plan Now to Reduce Taxes Upon Death
The following list provides some ideas on structuring your estate plan to reduce income taxes....

Checklist for Buy-Sell / Shareholder Agreements
Some guidance for that very important agreement with your co-owners. Please review these pointers and visit your legal counsel before significant issues arise....

What is Financial Planning?
What is financial planning? Financial planning is the process of organizing financial matters to achieve lifetime goals....

Risk Management - A Review of Insurance Issues and Related Matters
The purpose of risk management is to protect you against unforeseen losses that you cannot afford. You need to review all areas where such risks exist and take appropriate steps to minimize them....

Non-Residents' Taxation - Sale of Canadian Timber
Are you a U.S. resident selling timber from your Canadian property holdings? Watch out for the special tax rules....

Trees and Income Taxes - Selling Trees from your Personal Use Woodlot
The purpose of this article is to explain taxation of timber sales, also called stumpage, by persons who are not in the business of doing so. The common situation occurs when you are approached by...

Solving Your Cash Flow Problems
If you need help with making ends meet, review these ideas!...

Taxes and Caring for Aging Parents
Do you have aging parents who may soon be unable to look after themselves? Will you or your parents be faced with the costs of nursing home care and other medical needs? This article is an overvi...

Are Tax Preparation Fees Deductible?
When can you deduct our fees for preparing your tax return?...

Tax Planning Using Income Splitting
How can you reduce your combined family income tax costs by transferring taxable income from one individual to another in a lower tax bracket?...

Leveraging - Should you Borrow Money to Invest?
Leveraging is the process of borrowing money to invest. The old saying of “it takes money to make money” is at work here. We will look at the pros and cons of this method of investing...

Business Valuation
This article is intended to give you a simplified explanation of how businesses are valued. It is not intended to provide a full explanation of this very complex area....

Let's Start a Business Together in P.E.I. - Introduction
If you are planning to start your own business or maybe just an expansion, there are many factors to consider. Blair Corkum, BComm, CFP, CLU, R.F.P., CA has prepared a series of checklists to make ...

Let's Start A Business Together - Chapters 1, 2 & 3
See the Intro above to this article, which contains a full Table of Contents - these chapters describe the initial contacts you should make, the types of business structures to consider and infrast...

Let's Start A Business Together in P.E.I. - Chapters 4 & 5
See the Intro above to this article, which contains a full Table of Contents - these chapters describe getting ready to apply for financing and where to apply for many of your required registration...

Let's Start A Business Together In P.E.I. - Chapters 6 & 7
See the Intro above to this article, which contains a full Table of Contents - these chapters describe important tax planning issues and bookkeeping matters that all entrepreneurs should review for...

Let's Start A Business Together In P.E.I. - Chapter 8 & Appendix I
See the Intro above to this article, which contains a full Table of Contents - this chapter describes a list of additional general issues to consider when starting a business, and Appendix I lists ...

Business Plan Outline
Whether you need to prepare a business plan to raise financing, or want to prepare a plan for your own long-term planning, this is a guide to ensure you do it right....

Incorporation - Advantages and Disadvantages
A brief checklist of the pros and cons of incorporation to discuss with your professional advisors before incorporation....

12 Steps to Starting a Business in P.E.I.
A quickie checklist to get you started in a business - designed for P.E.I. but many points are relevant for anywhere!...

Investment Strategies for Individuals
If you want your savings to grow, there are some important concepts for you to know and understand. It's your money - remember how hard you worked to earn it so be careful with how you invest it....

Using Trusts in your Will
We are going to talk about Trusts set up in your Will, also called Testamentary Trusts, in this document. You may wish to obtain information on Living Trusts too. This article is not intended to ...

Tax Planning Tips for Investors
The following article deals with a number of issues applicable to taxation of investments. Although this list is not exhaustive, it will provide a checklist for everyone to consider. If you are l...

New Quarterly Newsletters (May 2013)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one about personal issues, and one about corporate issues....

Enhanced credit available to "new" charitable donors (May 2013)
Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for supporting charitable causes, through donations of money and goods. Our tax system supports that generosity by providing a tax credit, at both the federal...

Option to defer Old Age Security benefits available July 1 (May 2013)
Beginning July 1, 2013, Canadians who are 65 years of age will, for the first time, need to decide when they want to begin receiving their Old Age Security benefit....

Fixing an error on your tax return (May 2013)
As of the middle of April, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had received just under 10 million individual income tax returns for the 2012 tax year. It’s a near certainty that some number of th...

GST/HST refunds in jeopardy for delinquent businesses (May 2013)
A little-noticed provision contained in this year’s federal budget could result in some business owners not receiving their GST/HST refunds as expected. Virtually all businesses in Ca...

Newsletters

Corkum & Arsenault is a Chartered Accountant firm and a fee-only financial planning firm in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

We offer accounting, business advice, tax, estate planning and consulting services to clients who want to work directly with their advisor. In addition, with his extensive credentials and proven experience, Blair offers hourly fee personal financial planning (insurance and investment portfolio review, retirement planning, severance counselling, etc.) and financial divorce counselling.

From realistic start-up business plans and ongoing guidance to tax advice, business succession and estate planning, we can help you. Whether you are a new business owner or have concerns about the advice you are getting now, we are here for you.

Please learn more about us by clicking on the tabs at the top or bottom (especially see our personally written Newsletters), then call us to discuss a review of your needs.