Ottawa posts $150M surplus for July, $5.16B for fiscal year to date + MORE Sep 25th

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When the federal government launched the Tax-Free Savings Account in 2009 the news was mostly met with confusion. In a brief MoneySense article announcing the birth of the TFSA that year, even we admitted that “most of us are still trying to figure out how to make the best use of them.” Indeed, our article went on to quote experts who said you shouldn’t hold stocks in your TFSA, and that you shouldn’t use it for short-term savings. That advice now seems wrong-headed, but it’s unfair to pick on the experts: it was too soon to see the TFSA’s potential. But no longer.
The TFSA is so much more valuable today than it was six-plus years ago. Back when it was a baby, you could contribute just $5,000 annually. While that was a nice perk, it wasn’t going to change anyone’s financial situation: even if you maxed out your TFSA that year, earned 4% interest and were in a 30% tax bracket, your tax savings amounted to all of $5 a month…

(The Canadian Press)
OTTAWA — The federal government’s fiscal surplus crept higher in July, as rising tax revenue grew at a faster pace than spending.
Ottawa’s surplus after four months of the 2015-16 financial year was $5.16 billion —  including July’s $150 million surplus.
That compares with a deficit of $807 million through the April-to-July period last year, which included a $1.23-billion deficit for July 2014.
The Finance Department’s monthly fiscal monitor said revenue in July increased by $2.12 billion, or nearly 10 per cent, compared with last year. The report cited higher revenue from corporate income tax and the goods and services tax.
Spending on federal programs in July increased by $858 million, or about four per cent, compared with a year earlier, boosted in large part by the increase and expansion of the universal child care benefit.
Public debt charges fell by $119 million or nearly five per cent, due to lower interest rates.
The government’s spring budget projected a surplus of $1…

The NDP leader wrote a letter to the CEOs of Hootsuite and Shopify to clarify his party’s plans to fully tax gains by senior corporate executives from exercising stock options

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At just 23, and with no mortgage and no dependents, Blair is able to sock away about half his paycheque. He’s set up a TFSA at a discount brokerage and makes automatic contributions to a portfolio of low-cost mutual funds. (Photograph by Jaime Hogge)
Blair Stiver knows something about crunching numbers. The 23-year-old from King City, Ont., is a newly minted graduate in accounting and is now working as a bookkeeper for a nearby printing company. He’s even built a spreadsheet plotting out a three-year plan for his TFSA. “I want to get as much in there as I can now to give it more time to grow.” For young people just starting their careers, the TFSA offers something their parents never enjoyed: the possibility of building a retirement nest-egg that will grow entirely tax-free. Not only might they be able to avoid investing in taxable accounts, they might never even need an RRSP…

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Michael and Heidi are using a mix of TFSAs and RRSPs to shelter their savings. Since they may be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, the TFSA is becoming increasingly attractive. (Photography by Dave Milne)
Heidi Shearman and Michael Slark are within shouting distance of retirement. Although they’re both just 56, they believe they can leave the workforce in about four years. Shearman is looking forward to getting her hands dirty in the garden of their home in Prince George, B.C. Slark, who survived a life-threatening illness in 2008, will have more time to devote to his hobby: collecting comic books, graphic novels and science fiction. And their TFSAs are taking centre stage in their retirement plan.
Having spent many years in the financial industry, Heidi always knew the importance of saving for retirement. “While I was working full-time I contributed to my RRSP, though we weren’t able to max out,” she says…