Canadian Payroll Reporter

October 2017

Focuses on issues of importance to payroll professionals across Canada. It contains news, case studies, profiles and tracks payroll-related legislation to help employers comply with all the rules and regulations governing their organizations.

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Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com October 2017 Getting ready to act on changes Payroll professionals have many legislative initiatives to track BY SHEILA BRAWN IT IS no secret that payroll is a profession full of rules and regulations. Whether it is calculating statutory deductions, paying overtime, or issuing T4s and Re- cords of Employment, there are laws governing how and when payroll must take action. It is essential that payroll professionals stay on top of legislative and regulatory changes to ensure they comply with the rules; however, this can be challen- ging for busy payroll professionals, especially if they pay employees in multiple jurisdictions. To help make it a little easier, here is a review of some payroll-related legislative initiatives in various Canadian jurisdictions: Federal Recently passed amendments will bring a variety of payroll-related changes in the coming months and years. see ROUNDUP page 7 PM #40065782 Legislative Roundup Changes in payroll laws and regulations from across Canada see CARTER page 6 Credit: Aivoges/Shutterstock Income tax at 100: Reforming the system Does response to 1966 Carter Commission report hold lessons for future revisions? BY SHEILA BRAWN IN THE 100 years since Parliament passed the country's first federal income tax law, a lot has changed. The first income tax law, the 1917 Income War Tax Act, was only 11 printed pages, with 24 sections and four forms. Today, the In- come Tax Act is over 3,000 pages (printed in English and French), with 281 sections and hundreds of forms and related documents. A variety of organizations have criticized the current tax system. The Fraser Institute says it is overly complicated and expensive to administer, with high tax rates. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives complains that the Alberta Reminder: Minimum wage rates increasing in October The general minimum wage rate in Alberta rose from $12.20 an hour to $13.60 as of Oct. 1. The wage hike is part of the provincial government's strategy to implement a $15 minimum wage by next October. The rate for specified salespersons also went up on Oct. 1, from $486 per week to $542. Specified salespersons include sales employ- ees who sell automobiles, trucks, buses, farm machinery, heavy duty construction equipment or road construction equipment, mobile homes, and residential homes (if the salesperson works for the home builder). see OVERHAULS page 2 News in Brief pg. 4 Workplace fl exibility top priority for jobseekers | Nearly half of federal workers having issues with Phoenix | Salaries expected to rise by 2.3 per cent in 2018 Ask an Expert pg. 5 Time off for parental leave | Paper ROEs when fi ling electronically | Paying retiring allowances in instalments Test yourself pg. 3 How do you stack up on taxable benefi t rules regarding parking passes or gym memberships?

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