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Banks
& Banking in Canada
Bank Accounts
You can
open an account with any "Schedule I Banks". [Schedule
I banks are domestic banks and are authorized under the Bank
Act to accept deposits, which may be eligible for deposit
insurance provided by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation.]
It may be preferable to open an account with a large bank
with a wider ATM and branches. For instance, BMO Bank of Montreal,
CIBC, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank (The Bank of Nova Scotia)
and TD Bank have nationwide presence. Most banks in Canada
are usually open only Monday to Friday, daytime hours (9 a.m.
to 5 p.m.) Banks offer a variety of services to their customers
including currency exchange, safety deposit boxes for storage
of passports, and savings accounts. Many Canadians use personal
checks issued by banks as an efficient means to pay for services.
More about
banking in Canada from Canadian
Bankers Association (CBA). You may need the following
documents while opening a bank account:
- Passport,
- Work
Permit or Proof of immigrant status
Some banks
may need additional documents for verification. After
opening an account, you will have to deposit funds or Travellers
Cheques before you can operate the account. While
you are at the bank, collect the following information:
- Your
newly opened Bank Account number
- ATM
debit card to use the ATM
- A few
blank cheques - these are needed until you get your cheque
book
- Application
form for the credit card (if you are eligible)
You would
need a bank account, cheques and drafts for most financial
transactions including renting an appartment.
ATMs are especially easy to find in large cities, and are
more convenient than credit cards and traveler's checks. You
can usually use a regular bank card or a major credit card
at ATMs to withdraw cash. It might also be possible to open
a local account which would come with an ATM card. ATM cards
can also be used at many stores in Canada to pay for items
such as groceries and clothing.
Money
and Measurements
The unit of currency is the Canadian dollar, which equals
100 cents. The Canadian dollar (sign: $; code: CAD) is the
currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar
sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated
currencies. Canadian currency notes are clearly marked and
each denomination has a distinctive colour. The most common
paper currency in Canada comes in $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100
denominations. Coins appear in 1 cent (pennies), 5 cents (nickels),
10 cents (dimes), 25 cents (quarters), $1 (loonies) and $2
(twoonies) denominations.
All
shops and businesses will accept Canadian currency, and some
will accept United States currency in tourist areas. All other
foreign currency must be converted.
More
about Canadian Dollar on Wikipedia
and Bank
of Canada — bank notes
Taxes
The level of Taxation in Canada is average among Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.Some
provinces apply a provincial tax levy to goods and services.
All provinces must apply the federal Goods & Services
Tax (GST) of seven per cent to most purchases.
Federal
taxes are collected by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), formerly
known as "Revenue Canada" or the "Canada Customs
and Revenue Agency". Under "Tax Collection Agreements",
CRA collects and remits to the provinces:
Provincial
personal income taxes on behalf of all provinces except Quebec,
so that individuals outside of Quebec file only one set of
tax forms each year for their federal and provincial income
taxes.
Corporate taxes on behalf of all provinces except Quebec and
Alberta.
The Ministère du revenu du Québec collects the
GST in Quebec on behalf of the federal government, and remits
it to Ottawa.
The provincial
governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland
and Labrador no longer impose a provincial sales tax and in
those provinces the federal government collects goods and
services tax at a rate 8% higher than in the other provinces.
The additional revenue from this "harmonized sales tax"
is paid by the federal government to the three harmonizing
provinces.
Free
Tax filing for Canadians individuals: Review of StudioTax
Software
Tax season
is upon us and Canadian residents and all who earned money
must file a Tax
and Benefit Return for individuals by April 30 or June
15 (for self employed individuals) and their spouses or common-law
partners. Here is a review of FREE StudioTax software that
can be used for Individual tax filing in Canada. As
per Canada's Revenue Agency (CRA)
"the NETFILE
transmission service is open from February 11, 2008, until
September 30, 2008, for the electronic filing of your 2007
personal income tax and benefit return. Tax returns filed
via NETFILE must first be prepared using one of the commercial
tax preparation software packages or Web applications
certified for NETFILE." In the special, GaramChai.com,
the author presents a Review of StudioTax 2007 that is available
FREE for individuals. Check
out the complete article
More about
Taxation in Canada:
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