With the new "income splitting" rules (known as the
"tax on split income" or "TOSI") now law
effective January 1, 2018, I am constantly asked if income
splitting is dead for business owners and their families. Whenever
I'm asked this question – especially recently given that
we just celebrated Halloween – I think of many of the
1980's slasher movies. Just when you think the villain is dead,
he or she magically arise from the dead and starts slashing people
to death again. The Department of Finance can probably relate. Just
when they think they've effectively killed off income splitting
(or using their phrase, "income sprinkling"...a phrase
that annoys me), business owners, individuals, and their advisors
rise from the dead to create new income splitting plans. We'll
see if the Department of Finance will continue on with the 80's
slasher movie standard plot where they will fight the villain until
the villain is eventually dead.
