Allen commissioners approve CRA
An area with a CRA designation qualifies for property tax exemptions for exisiting property owners to construct or renovate buildings as a means of spurring economic development. Able to last up to 15 years, the exmption could reach up to 100 percent, with any exemption over 75 percent requiring the consent of the affected public school district.
The designated area is closer to the original area proposed in early February, covering just under 400 acres bordered by North Cole Street, Bluelick Road, and Irvin Road, reaching midway between Cole Street and West Street. An expanded CRA covering 887 total acres was briefly considered but later rejected.
"This is to develop an area in the township that we have been looking at for quite some time in the American Township area because of its current zoning," Allen Economic Development Group President and CEO Cynthia Leis said. "It just incentivizes development in that area."
Thursday's vote was a last-minute addition to the board agenda. Commissioner Beth Seibert emphasized that this area only encompasses properties optioned to the Allen County Port Authority that the landowners are willing to consider for the potential data center project.
"We have landowners willing to engage in this possible project," she said. "That is what the optioning to the Port Authority means to me."
This does not mean a data center has been approved, Seibert said.
With Thursday's resolution approved, the application for the creation of the CRA will now be sent to the Ohio Department of Development for approval.
Featured Local Savings
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Here's why the CRA should keep taxing tips even as the U.S. shies away from it
Early on in my career, I started going out for lunches and dinners with key contacts and clients. Providing gratuities, or tips as they're better known, for good service was, of course, customary. I wondered if it was a requirement for the servers to pay tax on their received tips. The short answer was yes and still is. I also learned that the reporting of tip income by recipients is very inconsistent and the subject of myths. A number of people, even seasoned tax professionals, would tell me — and continue to do so — that as long as the recipients reported something, say 10 per cent of their wage, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) would leave them alone. Not true and never has been. The CRA has long provided administrative guidance about the requirement to report tip income. For employers, especially if the tips are originally in their control, the CRA has provided guidance regarding proper tax withholdings from such amounts. Tips are indeed taxable income and need to be reported in their entirety. For the recipient, there are often good reasons to fully report your tip income. The first is that you're breaking the law by purposely not reporting it. In a worst-case scenario, it could be considered criminal tax evasion, resulting in significant financial penalties and possible jail time. Don't purposely under-report. Second, the reporting of your tip income can possibly make you eligible for certain types of government programs. For example, I'm aware of some servers who didn't report their tip income, so their income was too low to qualify for all the government handouts when COVID-19 came along. Third, it increases your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contribution room and future Canada Pension Plan payouts. Lastly, it can increase your income for the purposes of loan and mortgage eligibility. A basic policy in the design of any country's tax system is that any economic enrichment received by a taxpayer is taxed. The exceptions to such a basic rule are what cause many of the complications. For example, in Canada, lottery winnings are not taxable; only one-half of capital gains are included in taxable income; and dividend income received by individuals is taxed at a lower overall rate to give credit for the underlying corporate tax that has already been paid on such distributions. These are all deliberate policy choices. Tip income has intentionally not been excluded from being subject to tax in Canada. That is correct. There aren't any good and obvious policy reasons to exclude tips from tax. That's why I was surprised when Donald Trump promised to introduce a rule to not tax tips and overtime in the United States during the election campaign last year. I guffawed at such a promise since, again, I couldn't understand any good tax policy reasons to do that. I also wondered how such a law, if implemented, would be administered and to what occupations such an exclusion would apply. For example, perhaps a lawyer could issue an invoice for services rendered for US$100, but mandate a non-taxable 'tip' of US$100,000. Would the law encourage that kind of abuse? Fast forward to the implementation of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became U.S. law on July 4. It implemented the election promise, but didn't give a free pass on all tips. It also implemented limited non-taxability on overtime pay as well. Under new Internal Revenue Service code section 70201, for 2025 through 2028, employees and self-employed individuals may deduct up to US$25,000 of qualified tips (voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers or through tip sharing) received in occupations listed by the tax agency as customarily and regularly receiving qualified tips. For self-employed individuals, the deduction can not exceed their net income. The deduction phases out for those that have adjusted gross income in excess of US$150,000 or US$300,000 for joint filers. The IRS has not yet provided its list of occupations that 'customarily and regularly' receive tips and has until Oct. 2, 2025, to do that. Obviously, that list will be narrow to try to curtail some of the abuses that could be done, as illustrated in the example above. Should Canada do something similar? No. The new U.S. rule is very silly and a blatant example of politics driving tax policy for votes. Does it make any sense that a person who customarily receives tips should not pay tax on such amounts, whereas a person working in another industry — such as a retail sporting goods store — will pay tax on their compensation? No, it makes zero sense. If that makes sense to you, well, I have a bridge for sale down the street. Let's chat. There are obvious administrative benefits to exempting tips from tax (tips are usually small dollar amounts and can be a nuisance to track) and equity arguments (tips are often earned by lower-income people, so exempting such tips from income tax can perhaps improve equity), but the real risk is the erosion of the tax system. In other words, instead of relying on existing exemptions and credits to exempt and/or reduce lower-income households from tax, having no tax on tips would encourage no tax on other types of income. It would be a slippery slope. As former U.S. president Ronald Reagan once quipped, 'The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'' Canada should take another look at how it taxes death Canada's personal tax rates need to come down Is the U.S. government helping by complicating their tax laws with non-principled carveouts that are not grounded in good tax policy? If Canada followed suit, what's next? The tax system works best when it's clear, consistent and based on sound policy, not vote-hunting gimmicks. Canada should keep tips on the serving tax table. Kim Moody, FCPA, FCA, TEP, is the founder of Moodys Tax/Moodys Private Client, a former chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, former chair of the Society of Estate Practitioners (Canada) and has held many other leadership positions in the Canadian tax community. He can be reached at kgcm@ and his LinkedIn profile is __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
August 2025 Ontario Trillium Benefit payments arrive soon
Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) payments arrive soon for eligible Ontario residents. The August payment date for the government benefit is Friday, Aug. 8. The benefit is a combined three-in-one payment of the Ontario energy and property tax credit, the Northern Ontario energy credit and the Ontario sales tax credit. The OTB payment is indexed to inflation. It is income-tested, which means your income on your 2024 tax return will determine the amount you get — or if you qualify for the benefit at all. Other payments coming out for eligible Canadians in August include the Canada Disability Benefit , Canada Child Benefit, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the Veteran Disability Pension. To continue receiving the OTB, the Canada Revenue Agency says you have to file your income tax and benefit return on time every year — even if you have no income to report. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they also have to file a return every year. The annual OTB entitlement is usually divided by 12 and the payments issued monthly. Payments are based on the previous year's income tax and benefit returns. The OTB program is legislated and funded by the province of Ontario. The CRA administers this program on behalf of the province. You must meet the eligibility criteria and be entitled to receive a payment for at least one of the following credits to get the OTB: the Ontario energy and property tax credit , the Northern Ontario energy credit and the Ontario sales tax credit . Follow the links to each individual benefit to access their individual requirements. To be eligible for the OTB, you must have paid property tax or rent for your principal residence in Ontario in the prior tax year, paid living expenses for a nursing home, paid energy costs while living on an Ontario reserve or lived in a designed post-secondary school residence in the prior year. Your eligibility is based on your family's net income from the previous tax year, which may change due to differences in your family net income, your place of residence, your age or your family status. To get the three-in-one benefit, you must file your previous year's income tax and benefit return. Each year, the Ontario government says you must apply for the OTB by filing your personal income tax and benefit return and completing and enclosing the ON-BEN application form included in your tax return package. You must file your tax return even if you don't have any income to report. Based on the information in your tax return, the CRA will determine if you're eligible and tell you if you are entitled to receive the credit. You can use the child and family benefits calculator to find out what child and family benefits you may be able to access and how much your payments may be. If you don't receive your payment, you might want to check on its status using Canada Revenue Agency's My Account . The CRA advises waiting 10 working days from the payment date to contact them if you haven't received your payment. For more information about the Ontario Trillium Benefit, visit the government's website . — With files from Heidi Riedner Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Tax court judge slams ‘perpetual tax trap' on TFSA overcontributions
If you accidentally overcontribute to your tax-free savings account (TFSA), you will face the dreaded overcontribution penalty tax, which is equal to one per cent per month for each month you're accidentally over the limit. You can request that the Canada Revenue Agency waive or cancel the tax, which it has the power to do, if it can be established that the tax arose 'as a consequence of a reasonable error' and the overcontribution is withdrawn from the TFSA 'without delay.' But what if by the time you realize that you overcontributed, the fair market value of the investments inside your TFSA has plummeted to such an extent that it's below the value of the overcontribution you need to withdraw? Will the monthly penalty tax ever stop accruing? A federal court judge, writing in the latest TFSA overcontribution case just released, called this a 'perpetual tax trap' for the unfortunate taxpayer, adding that it 'appears to be inconsistent with (Parliament's) intent.' Let's review the details of this recent case before considering, practically, what a taxpayer might do should they find themselves in such a dilemma. The taxpayer's TFSA woes began back in December 2017, when he opened a TFSA with online broker Qtrade. His portfolio consisted largely of penny stocks. In 2018, he also contributed to a separate Sun Life Financial Inc. TFSA. He contributed a total of $183,000 to his TFSA accounts, resulting in a total overcontribution of $131,719. In July 2019, the CRA issued the taxpayer a TFSA Notice of Assessment (NOA) for 2018 resulting in $6,424 of tax, interest and penalties. The taxpayer received this NOA, but claimed that he misunderstood it, believing that it applied to unpaid regular income tax, and therefore simply paid it. In 2019, the taxpayer contributed an additional $70,562 to his TFSAs when only $6,000 of new room opened up for 2019. Thus, by the end of 2019, he had overcontributed a total $196,281 to his TFSAs. In July 2020, the CRA issued a TFSA NOA for 2019, and assessed him an additional $22,086 in overcontribution tax, interest and penalties. Once again, the taxpayer claimed that he misunderstood the 2019 NOA and thought that it applied to unpaid income tax. In 2020, the taxpayer contributed a further $33,894 to his TFSAs, such that by the end of 2020, he had overcontributed $224,175 to his TFSAs. In July 2021, the CRA issued a TFSA NOA for the 2020 taxation year, assessing $26,522 in tax on excess TFSA amounts, as well as penalties, interest and a previous unpaid for a total balance owing of $44,114. According to the taxpayer, it was only after receiving this 2020 NOA, in July 2021, that he understood the nature of the overcontribution issue. By that time, however, the value of his Qtrade account had fallen below the amount necessary to withdraw the excess and therefore, according to him, he could not simply liquidate his portfolio to the required amount. Notwithstanding the taxpayer's overcontribution situation, the taxpayer still made further contributions to his TFSAs in 2021, including into yet another TFSA account he opened in July 2021, with Industrial Alliance (IA) Financial Group. The taxpayer said that he had meant to open an RRSP account. He also continued to contribute to his Sun Life TFSA. In July 2022, the CRA issued a TFSA NOA for 2021 taxation year, assessing $27,364 tax on excess TFSA amounts, which with penalties, interest and a previous unpaid balance brought the total owing to $72,552. In January 2023, the taxpayer closed his Qtrade account and transferred all its remaining assets to his non-registered account. Although he had deposited a total of $288,500 into this account over time, the value of his TFSA portfolio had plummeted to $21,810. In February 2024, after meeting with his accountant who informed him that his IA account was also a TFSA, the taxpayer closed the IA account as well. The taxpayer wrote to the CRA requesting a waiver and cancellation of all the taxes, interest and penalties payable resulting from his overcontributions, saying they were 'inadvertent' because when he opened the Qtrade account, he had intended to open a regular trading account and did not realize that it was a TFSA. He further argued that by the time he realized it was a TFSA, because he had invested in penny stocks that went to zero, the overcontributed money no longer existed, making it impossible for him to fully comply with the CRA's notices to withdraw the entire amount immediately. He argued that it would be unfair for him 'to be subject to (overcontribution) tax for the next several decades, which is how long it would take the annual contribution room increases to catch up with the overcontribution.' The CRA rejected these arguments, which is why the matter ended up in court. The judge, after a careful review of all the evidence, found that the CRA's decision not to waive the tax was reasonable. She felt that the taxpayer should have been alerted to his TFSA overcontributions by the NOAs, the first page of which clearly indicates 'TFSA NOA,' and the second page which says 'you contributed too much to your TFSA.' In addition, the monthly Qtrade statements he had been receiving since December 2017 clearly describe the type of account as a 'TFSA.' In a final comment, the judge did share the taxpayer's concern that, in certain circumstances, 'prolonged and ongoing liability to remedy overcontributions appears to be inconsistent with the legislator's intent. (The law) as it currently stands, operates as a perpetual tax trap for taxpayers who made a good faith but mistaken overcontribution, even when they acted to unwind it to the best of their ability but cannot do so because the value of their TFSA is no longer sufficient to do so.' She noted that the CRA had asked the taxpayer repeatedly to close all his TFSA accounts and to provide the CRA with proof of this. While this may not assist the taxpayer with respect to prior years' taxes and penalties, it may be interpreted as an invitation from the CRA for him to present 'a clean record' and seek relief for any future overcontribution tax. CRA denies taxpayer a break on $33,000 of spousal support How to fix Canadians' unfairly high tax burdens under progressive rates Taxpayers who find themselves in a similar situation would best be advised to close out their TFSAs, and either seek a waiver from the CRA for future overcontribution tax, or consider seeking a remission order. Jamie Golombek, FCPA, FCA, CFP, CLU, TEP, is the managing director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC Private Wealth in Toronto. If you liked this story, in the FP Investor newsletter.
