On Tuesday, April 16, the government of Canada revealed its 2024 Federal Budget with major changes that impact investors, savers and business builders – most significantly of which being an increase to the capital gains inclusion rate.

In this “breaking news” episode of The Unlimited Podcast, we bring back the “Tax Ninja”, Alexandra (Ali) Spinner, to help break down the key changes and provide some guidance for immediate and long-term actions and plans. Ali can also be seen discussing the Federal Budget changes on BNN Bloomberg.

Key changes covered include:

1. The increase to the capital gains inclusion rate
2. The increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption
3. The introduction of the Canadian Entrepreneurs Incentive
4. Changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

Ali is a Partner in Crowe Soberman’s Tax Group, a member of the firm’s Management Committee, and leader of the High-Net-Worth tax practice. Ali has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting and tax and estate planning. Her practice focuses on helping wealthy families and high-performance professionals structure their affairs in a tax-efficient manner. Ali’s broad technical expertise includes domestic, cross-border, and international tax matters for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations. She is experienced in complex estate and trust planning, post-mortem planning, corporate reorganizations, and the preparation of Canadian tax returns and compliance forms. In 2022, she was elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

This episode can be found here or find us in your favourite podcasting app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music.

If you like what you hear, please don’t hesitate to rate us kindly. And if there are particular topics you’d like covered, please let us know.

As a follow-up to Episode 33: Insurance 101 with Simon Kay, this episode features Zak Goldman and Jonah Mayles from Sterling Park providing an Insurance 201 lesson for our listeners, with a focus on the tax and wealth creation advantages of whole life insurance.

Whole life insurance is a permanent insurance policy that grows in value over time by participating in distributions from the insurance company’s pool of investments. This type of policy offers a significant opportunity to boost wealth and estate value, for two key reasons:

1. The policy’s value grows tax-free and is typically distributed tax-free[i] upon death, and
2. When held within a corporation, the proceeds can be paid to your estate on a tax-free basis[ii] without being subject to additional taxes like most other corporate assets.

For someone with a corporation, the additional after-tax value of dollars invested in a whole life insurance policy can be potentially double what could be achieved without the use of insurance.[iii]

Brian and the “Dynamic Duo” of Zak and Jonah explain whole life insurance and how it works, compare the after-tax result of using insurance vs. not, and provide insight into how to know if an insurance policy is right for you.

Zak is a founding partner of Sterling Park. He has advised affluent clients and business owners for over 20 years. He holds the Family Enterprise Advisor™ (FEA) designation and an MBA from the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.

Jonah is a partner at Sterling Park and is the tax, legal and estate planning guru in the firm. Before joining Sterling Park, Jonah was a tax lawyer at Fraser Milner Casgrain and Torkin Manes where his practice focused on business succession planning, estate planning, advising on and drafting family trusts and structuring/implementing tax-efficient sales and purchases of businesses.

You can listen to this episode here or find us in your favourite podcasting app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music.

 

[i] The tax-free nature of whole life insurance may not be absolute under certain circumstances, including in shorter duration insurance policies. This letter is meant only to provide a high-level overview of the benefits of whole life insurance and is not comprehensive. Please speak with Ginsler Wealth Financial Services Inc., a FSRA licensed insurance agency, or your own insurance advisors for more specific details.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] The precise outcome of utilizing these types of insurance policies will depend on the age, gender and medical profile of the insured(s) at time of entering into the policy and the age of death of the unsured(s) amongst other factors. Talk to Ginsler Wealth Financial Services Inc. or you own insurance advisor for more precise details.

This episode is brought to you by Ginsler Wealth Financial Services Inc., a FSRAO licensed insurance agent corporation. Nothing in this podcast should be deemed to be insurance or financial advice, and is for informational purposes only.

As long as humans have been taking risks, we have been looking for ways to mitigate those risks. Insurance, while a very popular risk transfer tool, can be complex and easily misunderstood. On this episode of The Unlimited Podcast, Brian speaks with Simon Kay of IPS insurance, who provides an Insurance 101 lesson, focusing on insurance for individuals and families.

Brian and Simon discuss different types of insurance, how to determine how much insurance you need, individual vs. group coverage, and more.

Simon is the President of IPS Insurance, a specialized insurance advisory firm with a very unique private underwriting approach to determine insurability. Simon is an insurance industry veteran, having started his insurance career back in 1988 as an insurance agent at London Life. More recently, Simon is a founding investor in Fairgrounds, a free-to-join racquet club focusing on Pickelball and Padel – some of the fastest growing sports in the word.

You can listen to this episode here or find us in your favourite podcasting app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music.

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And COMING SOON…The Unlimited Podcast goes back to school for Insurance 201, where we explore the use of insurance for tax-efficient wealth accumulation.

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This episode is brought to you by Ginsler Wealth Financial Services Inc., a FSRAO licensed insurance agent corporation. Nothing in this podcast should be deemed to be insurance or financial advice, and is for informational purposes only.

The original article for Brian’s summary of the history of insurance can be found here.

November is Financial Literacy month in Canada, so as part of Ginsler Wealth’s ongoing efforts to promote financial literacy, Brian speaks with Robin Taub, CPA, CA, the author of The Wisest Investment: Teaching Your Kids to Be Responsible, Independent and Money-Smart for Life.

Brian and Robin discuss her path to writing the book on financial literacy, the 5 Pillars of Money, her 11 Healthy Habits of Financial Management, and how parents can overcome the challenges of teaching their children about money.

Robin is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), keynote speaker, and bestselling author recognized for her expertise in personal finance and financial literacy. Her award-winning book, The Wisest Investment, has received accolades, including praise from David Chilton, the star of Dragons’ Den and author of The Wealthy Barber.

With a unique ability to simplify complex money topics, Robin acts as the “Google Translate” for personal finance, making it accessible to all. Her background includes roles in audit, taxation, and derivatives marketing at leading Canadian firms. She is also a passionate advocate for advancing women CPAs into leadership roles.

Robin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with High Distinction from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is a lifelong learner, having completed the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants’ In-Depth Tax Course.

Residing in Toronto, Robin and her husband have raised two (mostly) money-smart young adults. Besides her financial expertise, she enjoys snowboarding, cycling, and attending concerts, including a memorable backstage encounter with Bruce Springsteen.

For more about Robin and to purchase a copy of The Wisest Investment, click here.

You can listen to this episode here or find us in your favourite podcasting app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music.

If you like what you hear, please don’t hesitate to rate us kindly. And if there are particular topics you’d like covered, please let us know.