75% Wage Subsidy Extended Until August
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the 75 per cent federal wage subsidy program is being expanded by three months, to the end of August to assist employers as they look to reopen their businesses. Companies that saw their revenues drop by 15 per cent in March or 30 per cent in April and May are eligible for the program ? but Trudeau hinted changes could be coming to that threshold. "As businesses start up again, this shouldn't become a barrier to growth." He said this aspect of the program will be one explored during talks with business and labour stakeholders in the weeks ahead.
Planning Opportunities for the 75% Wage Subsidy
Today, I was talking with one of our clients about whether they qualify for the 75% wage subsidy. Sadly, they have been closed since the beginning of the COVID crisis, but now with the governments willing to slowly start opening some businesses, they are looking to bring back their employees and slowly start working again. They did not think they qualified, as when they were closed they had no employees, and now that they are opening in May, they don't expect a full 30% drop in revenue year over year.
Commercial Rent Assistance
The Canadian Government reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. This program will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of three monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May, and June.
Prepare to Apply for the 75% Wage Subsidy
Ready, Set, Go! Today, April 27th, 2020, certain employers will be able to apply to receive the 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). This temporary subsidy, which is available to qualifying employers who have lost revenue during the COVID-19 crisis, provides an amount to employers equal to 75% of employees' remuneration paid, up to a maximum of $847 per week per employee from March 15, 2020 to June 6, 2020. CRA notes that employees who have been laid off or furloughed, must be rehired and paid before they can be included in the subsidy calculation.
75% Wage Subsidy Updates
75% Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Updated April 19, 2020 The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS - the 75% Wage Subsidy) was passed into law on April 11, 2020. This law amends the Income Tax Act to introduce an emergency wage subsidy as part of the COVID-19 response, specifically it details the 75% wage subsidy and how it can help businesses during this unprecedented time. It is a complex law. Bill C-14 encompasses about 11 pages, and about 5 of them are definitions of terms that have not been used in the Income Tax Act before, or they are very specific to this provision. You should consult your tax professional if your situation is not straight forward. Previously, it was indicated that the government wanted to provide an enhanced Wage Subsidy (75%) to help employers keep workers on the payroll. Here are some of the details that were initially released with the recent changes.
April 16th Changes to CEBA and Commercial Rent Relief (CECRA)
Canada Emergency Business Account On April 16th, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced an expansion to the Canada Emergency Bank Account (CEBA). Now businesses that had payroll in 2019, as evidenced by their T4 Summary remittance, of between $20,000 and $1,500,000, are eligible for the $40,000 loan program at 0% interest. This new range replaces the prior range of $50,000 to $1,000,000. Since the launch of CEBA, more than 195,000 loans have been approved by financial institutions, which represents approximately $7.5 billion in credit made available to small and medium sized businesses.
CERB and 75% Wage Subsidy Updates
In this blog we wanted to talk about the latest changes in Canada's incentive programs. Over the past couple of days, there have been a number of announcements with clarifications or minor modifications made to some programs. CERB ($500/week) for Workers The CERB opened for applications on Monday April 6th, 2020. The application process turned out to be surprisingly efficient and easy. Applicants must attest but they've been out of work at least 14 straight days, and that their unemployment was caused COVID 19. Even applications done over the phone are quick and easy, and take about four minutes to complete.
April 1st 75% Wage Subsidy Update
Earlier today Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced further details about the 75% wage subsidy. The following is a summary of what was disclosed today and last week: The wage subsidy will reimburse employers 75% of an employee's salary, to a maximum of $847 per week, per employee,
The 75% wage subsidy and other updates
75% Wage Subsidy Last Friday, the government announced the 75% wage subsidy. Today, details were announced that eligible businesses would have had to experience a 30% drop in revenue. The definition of drop in revenue has not yet been defined - is it Revenue to Budget? Revenue to Prior Year? Revenue to Prior Month? What about Revenue that has been booked but the customer can no longer pay? Still many questions to answer - hopefully the next couple of days will shed some light on these and other questions.
CRA deadlines for COVID-19 and Your Business
COVID-19 and Your Business Today we wanted to update you on the CRA deadlines, extensions and other important information that has been implemented during the Corona Virus outbreak. Today's compilation is in part from the CRA website and CPA Canada, our regulatory body. Filing Deadlines Personal tax returns originally due by April 30th have been extended to June 1st. Amounts originally due on April 30th, have also been been extended to September 1st. This means that you will not incur interest or penalties if you pay the amount on your personal taxes owing by September 1st.
COVID-19, Your Business and Wage Subsidies
COVID-19 and Your Business Today we wanted to take a moment to talk about the 10% wage subsidy that the federal government has implemented. We have been receiving many calls from our customers looking for some direction of how to take advantage of this subsidy. Who is Eligible You are an eligible employer if you: are a non-profit organization, registered charity, or a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC); have an existing business number and payroll program account with the CRA on March 18, 2020; and pay salary, wages, bonuses, or other remuneration to an employee. Note, CCPCs are only eligible if their taxable capital for all associated companies is less than $15 million.
COVID-19, Your Business and EI
COVID-19 and Your Business We have been receiving many calls from our business customers and what they should do with respect to COVID-19 or Corona Virus. We wanted to take this time to give you some brief information about Employment Insurance. The Federal Government has waived the one week waiting period for EI due to sickness benefits. Meaning that the employee will receive payment as soon as they apply for EI. Payments are made bi-weekly, and their first payment is likely to be 3 weeks out. For Your Business From an employers' perspective, you have 5 days to issue the Record of Employment (ROE). The ROE is generally filed on line and the employee will receive a copy on-line as well. This link will take you to the Service Canada page for filing the ROE. The following codes should be used when completing the ROE for your employee:
Is the Threat of a CRA Audit Keeping You Up At Night
CRA Audits Increasing Every Year Do a Google search on CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) Audits and you will find hundreds of articles about how CRA is spending more money to hire more auditors and improve statistical analysis to improve targeted audits. A few years ago, CRA reported to Parliament that random audits detected significant non-compliance in 12.2% of cases. However, targeted audits based upon certain risk assessments detected a whopping 46.7% of non-compliance. To this end, CRA has proposed to increase spending by $1.2 billion by 2024-25 to hire new auditors to improve tax compliance -- and they expect to recover and collect $5.8 billion more in taxes as a result. We should first understand why taxpayers get audited, then we can talk about things you can do to alleviate the anxiety. So what activities or characteristics will increase your risk of getting audited?
CRA Audit Alert - Vehicle Expenses Audit Project
CRA Audit Project - Reviewing Your Vehicle Expenses The team at GBA have observed an increased number of CRA reviews and audits surrounding vehicle expenses. We normally see a number of these each year, but this year, we feel like it has become a project for CRA to target these expenses, and we feel that it is important enough to not only tell our clients how they can ensure that they are protected, but to tell the general public as well by way of this blog. These expenses can be found in several scenarios with individual and/or corporate taxpayers. With individual taxpayers, if you are using your vehicle as part of your business as a sole proprietor, or as part of employment expenses, your risk of being audited has increased over the past year. So, if one of the above situations applies to you, please continue to read the following as we explain how to audit proof your taxes.
5 Essential QBO Reports You Need For Your Small Business
In this blog, we will be looking at the 6 critical reports that you need to look at to ensure you success with your small business.
7 Questions To Ask When Choosing An Accountant For Your Small Business
Choosing an accountant for your business is one of the most important decisions for you and your business. The right accountant can help you do more than just file your taxes, they can help you grow your business, keep you from increasing your risk of being audited and save you time and money in the end. With that in mind, we created a list of the most important questions you should ask your prospective accountant when the time comes to hire one or change. Do They Have a Designation? In Canada, there use to be 3 different designations that have all amalgamated under the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. With this designation, you can feel assured that the individual or firm has had to undergo a certain amount of training and education and are regulated by CPA Canada and one of the Provincial organizations as well, such as CPA Ontario. These regulatory bodies give the public some peace of mind as the individual accountant or firm is monitored on a regular basis to uphold the standards in place.
The 27 Common Business Mistakes costing you Money Right Now - Part 5
FATAL MISTAKES? You Must Absolutely, Positively Eliminate From Your Business Right NOW! Here is part 4 of our 5 part series. If you have not read parts 1 - 4, please read those blogs first.
The 27 Common Business Mistakes costing you Money Right Now - Part 4
FATAL MISTAKES? You Must Absolutely, Positively Eliminate From Your Business Right NOW! Here is part 4 of our 5 part series. If you have not read parts 1 - 3, please read those blogs first. Marketing Mistake #6 Failing To Use Testimonials Let?s be honest - selling isn?t easy. Unless a prospect is convinced, the product or service will give them the result they?re seeking, the sale won?t be made. And what people say themselves about their business and their products or services is often taken with a ?pinch of salt?. After all, we are all skeptics these days. So how can you almost instantly prove to the prospect you can deliver on your promises? It?s actually much easier than you may think. All you need to do is use ?customer testimonials?. Again we can?t tell you how often we see businesses trying to sell and market their products or services without the use of testimonials. They make life very, very difficult if they don?t use testimonials. Testimonials have the power to get customers by the bucketful (we also call this ?Social Proof?).
The 27 Common Business Mistakes costing you Money Right Now - Part 3
FATAL MISTAKES? You Must Absolutely, Positively Eliminate From Your Business Right NOW! Here is part 3 of our 5 part series. If you have not read parts 1 and 2, please read those blogs first. Marketing Mistake #2 Not Having A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) This will knock your socks off..... This is by far the most common Marketing Mistake people make. Let us explain?USP is the one thing that differentiates your business from your competitors in the minds of your customers and prospects. The USP is what makes the difference between having a truly outstanding business or merely a good one, or worse still, a poor one. Occasionally the USP already exists in your business ? you just need to discover it and then articulate it in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd. However, in most cases the USP has to be created, often out of ?thin air?. We can?t stress enough how important this is to you. How can you expect your customers to be able to choose you, over and above any of your competitors, if the customers can?t quickly see what it is you do that is so unique and beneficial to them? Outstanding businesses have been founded on a USP alone. For example, here's a very well known USP? "Red hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less - guaranteed." Tom Monahan of Domino?s Pizza created one of the most successful fast-food franchises in the world from the strength of this USP. So did Fred Smith of FedEx (?When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight ? FedEx?).
27 Mistakes That Are Costing SME Businesses $Millions
FATAL MISTAKES? You Must Absolutely, Positively Eliminate From Your Business Right NOW! Here is part 2 of our 5 part series. If you have not read part 1, please read that blog first. Financial Mistake #7 Failing To Account For Regular Expenses Every business should know when it is due to pay its wages, rent, tax and HST and also have a good idea of how much they are going to be. But when it comes time to pay them, they are often the expenses which many business owners simply don?t have the cash flow for, and it?s these expenses which cause many businesses to go under. The reason is partly understandable as these tend to be big bills but it is often a symptom of an internal problem as the business fails to account for them. A cash flow forecast is a fundamental management tool for a business. It is the means by which future bills can be factored into current decisions and help to avoid spending money that ought to be allocated for other uses.
