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Canada’s Proposed Tax on Vacant Land: Is It the Right Approach?
Canada’s proposed tax on vacant land aims to tackle the housing crisis, but could it backfire? While the intention is commendable, experts warn that such measures may distort economic behavior and burden smaller developers. Instead of penalizing real estate developers, a more effective solution might be to offer tax incentives that encourage immediate construction. Drawing lessons from Ireland’s experience with similar policies, this article explores the potential pitfalls of a vacant land tax and advocates for a collaborative approach that benefits both the government and developers. Discover why tax breaks could be the key to solving Canada’s housing shortage.
Liberal Government Mortgage Reforms: A Double-Edged Sword for Young Canadians?
On September 16, 2024, the federal government unveiled bold mortgage reforms aimed at tackling Canada’s housing crisis and making homeownership more accessible, particularly for younger generations. While these changes seem beneficial at first glance, a closer look reveals a more complex picture, especially for Millennials and Gen Z who are already grappling with high home prices in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive: A Promising Tax Break Needing Greater Clarity
Are you a Canadian business owner considering selling your company? The new Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive (CEI) could be of benefit. Starting in 2025, this promising tax break will significantly reduce your capital gains tax. With a gradual increase in the lifetime limit to $2 million by 2029, the CEI offers substantial savings for eligible entrepreneurs. However, the draft legislation raises important questions about qualifications and exclusions. Discover how this incentive could impact your business and what clarifications are needed for a smoother implementation.
Tax Filing Relief for Trusts in 2024 and Beyond
Navigating the complexities of trust tax filing can be daunting, but there’s good news for 2024! Recent draft legislation will exempt bare trusts from filing tax returns, easing the burden on many Canadians. The definition of Listed Trusts is also expanding, providing more relief for smaller and family trusts. Discover how these changes can simplify your tax obligations and offer greater flexibility in managing your assets. Stay informed on updates that could impact your financial planning—read on to learn more!
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2021 Budget: CEWS and CERS and the New Canada Recovery Hiring Program
Budget 2021 proposes to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and the Lockdown Support until September 2021. The subsidy rates would gradually decline over the July-to-September period. Budget 2021 also proposes to provide the government with authority to extend these programs until November 20, 2021, should the economic
2021 Budget: Application of Canadian sales tax to non-resident digital vendors, online market places, and short-term accommodation platforms
The budget announced more details regarding the earlier proposed changes to the sales tax regime which would require non-resident vendors to register for HST when they sell digital products or services to Canadian end-consumers. Who does this apply to? Starting on July 1, 2021, the following non-resident vendors are required to register for and collect
6 Benefits Announced in the 2021 Ontario Budget to Help You Emerge from the Pandemic
Yesterday, the Ontario government announced several measures as part of the 2021 Provincial Budget targeted at businesses, mature students, and families with young children. We like to highlight 6 goodies announced in this budget to kick start the economy post COVID. We want to make sure you know all these measures as they can impact
CEBA $20,000 extension – BEWARE!
Recently a client reached out, and we landed on the topic of the $20,000 CEBA extension. “More free loans? More debt forgiveness? Sign me up!” This client had wanted monthly touchpoints to ensure he was taking the right steps with his business and initially wasn’t even going to consider asking about whether this extension was
Detailed Commentary on the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (“CERS”) helps businesses pay for rent, property taxes, mortgage rent, and insurance for premises used to operate their business. The name of the subsidy is a bit deceiving. It’s more than just a rent subsidy. It also helps business owners who own their property by subsidizing mortgage interest, property taxes
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) Q&A
The new rent subsidy would be available retroactive to September 27, 2020, until June 2021. The rent subsidy mirrors CEWS. Unlike the old rent subsidy, the new rent subsidy would provide benefits directly to renters and property owners, without landlords being involved. How Much Subsidy Can I Get? You get a percentage of your Eligible
CEWS 3.0: 5 Key Updates
The government introduced Bill C-9 to introduce updates to CEWS 2.0. The updates are not too substantial. We highlight the 5 key updates you should be aware of. 1. November and December 2020 Base Subsidy Increased to 40% or 0.8 x Revenue Drop Under CEWS 2.0, November 2020 (October 25, 2020 to November 21, 2020)
Throne Speech 2020 & Tax Measures
Today, Julie Payette, the Governor-General of Canada, opened the new session of Parliament with the throne speech. The following is a summary of some of the proposed tax measures that were discussed. Tax Measures Targeted at High-Net worth Individuals The Government proposes to identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality, including by concluding work
Play the Baseline: CEWS 2.0 Good News for Owner-Managers
CEWS 2.0 Good News for Business Owners Who Pay Themselves a Salary CEWS 2.0 brings welcoming news for owner-managers. Business owners who pay themselves a salary and who didn’t qualify under the old rules may now qualify for CEWS. They can even revisit their CEWS calculation in previous periods (March, April, May, and June) and
VIDEO: 10 Things You Need to Know About CEWS 2.0 | Real Life Examples
Please check out our comprehensive e-learning video where we outline 10 things you need to know about CEWS 2.0 which received Royal Assent on July 27, 2020. CEWS 2.0, which runs from July to December, is more complicated than CEWS 1.0, which covered March, April, May, and June. Yet, there are more opportunities to qualify
The Updated CEWS: 10 Things You Need to Know with Real-Life Examples
On July 17, 2020, the Government of Canada announced significant changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”) program. This is good news. The updated rules allow more businesses to qualify, even when revenue decline is less than 30%. Please refer to the examples where we highlight real-life scenarios and show how your business may
CEWS extended until the end of August – What does this mean for your business?
The Government of Canada will extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) by an additional 12 weeks to August 29, 2020. Initially, the CEWS was only available until June 6, 2020. What does the CEWS extension mean for my business? As provinces ease restrictions, businesses that are starting to reopen at a smaller scale than
Dig Deeper: You May Qualify for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
With the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”), many small and medium-sized businesses are busy at work trying to figure out if their revenue decline was enough to qualify for CEWS. Many businesses, especially service businesses, are having a hard time collecting revenues. In this time of uncertainty, by carefully interpreting the revenue recognition accounting standards,
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Calculator
Two-Step Calculator to Estimate Your Wage Subsidy! Download our calculator and see how much you can get back!
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy: Detailed Commentary on New Income Tax Act Section 125.7
On Saturday, April 11, 2020, parliament held a rare weekend debate to pass Bill C-14, a bill containing legislation for the proposed Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”). The government chose to enact CEWS by adding section 125.7 to the Income Tax Act (“Act”). As we will see in this commentary, this was the right decision.
75% Wage Subsidy Version 2.0: Welcoming Changes for Many Businesses
Today, the government announced key changes to the 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). Today’s update addresses many of the concerns we previously raised. As a result, many businesses that didn’t qualify before would now qualify under what we call CEWS “Version 2.0”. Conditions to Qualify The subsidy is available to eligible employers who suffer
Electronic Witnessing of Wills and Power of Attorney Permitted During COVID-19
With more and more people thinking about updating their wills or getting their power of attorney (POA) done during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario government has relaxed rules surrounding the need to witness such documents. Under the existing rules, a will is only valid when the testator makes or acknowledges the signature in the presence
U.S.’s Coronavirus Aid – Good News for U.S. Expats & Canadians Doing Business Down South
The U.S. recently passed the Coronavirus Relief Bill (CARES Act) to provide economic relief measures to individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We point our Canadian readers to the Recovery Rebate, the individual tax measures, and the business tax measures that is sure to help U.S. Expats living in Canada and Canadians who
What does the 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy mean for your business?
What is the CEWS? The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) would apply at a rate of 75% of the first $58,700 normally earned by employees – representing a benefit of up to $847 per week per employee[1]. What period does the subsidy cover? The program would be in place for 12 weeks, from March 15
Musical chairs and the CERB Benefit: Rearranging work to help your employees and business
In this article, we show strategies businesses can take by rearranging work schedules to allow their employees to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”) while running a scaled-down operation. CERB Eligibility To qualify for CERB, the worker applying must meet two tests: First Test The worker applying must be: at least 15 years
Relief for Small Businesses Announced
Massive Changes to the Temporary Wage Subsidy The government proposed to increase the wage subsidy from 10% to 75% of wages. However, no announcement was made whether the $1,375 per employee limit or the $25,000 per employer limit will be increased. We suspect that these may be increased because the intent seems to be to
Temporary wage subsidy: Pitfalls for Associated Corporations
The Temporary Wage Subsidy On March 25, 2020, the Canadian government passed Bill C-13 to enact legislative measures in response to COVID-19. Among these measures were various amendments to the Income Tax Act (the “Act”), including Section 153 of the Act. Subsection 153(1) of the Act deals with the withholding of tax and source deductions
Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID‑19
On March 25, 2020, Rob Phillips, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, put forth the Province’s Economic and Fiscal Update, with a focus on responding to COVID-19. The details and how you can register for these benefits have not been provided yet but we will let you know as soon as these become available. Key Highlights Interest
Canadian Government to give $2,000 per month up to 4 Months – You May Qualify
The Canadian Government has proposed legislation to establish the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). This taxable benefit would provide $2,000 a month for up to four months for workers who lose their income due to COVID-19 for at least 14 consecutive days within any four-week period from March 15, 2020 until October 3, 2020. You
Small Business Owners and COVID-19: Tax Planning to Preserve Cash
The recent measures released by the government of Canada to combat the negative fallout from COVID-19 provides some relief to owner-managers of small businesses. While these measures do help, owner-managers may also position themselves in a better financial position by considering the following: Stop paying yourself a salary Owner Managers who pay themselves a recurring
