Updated! – Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

Updates to the CEWS – Per our previous posting on April 15, the CEWS as put in place for an initial 12-week period ending June, 6, 2020. This was extended for an additional 12-weeks, ending August 29, 2020.

Draft legislation has been released to extend the program until at least November 21, 2020. This extension includes some rule changes that are important to take note of.

Effective July 5, 2020 (period 5 and subsequent periods), the CEWS will now be made up of two parts:

  • Base: available to all eligible employers that are experiencing a decline in revenues, with the subsidy amount varying depending on the scale of revenue decline (see picture #1). The base will be the specified rate applied to the remuneration paid to the employee for the period, on remuneration up to $1,129. The base rate will vary depending on the level of revenue decline, and is extended to employers who have had a drop of less than 30% so all employers with a revenue decline will qualify. This decrease will either be based on the revenue decline for either the current or previous month (whichever is greater) compared to the same month in 2019 (or the average of January and February 2020 revenue if that method is chosen)
  • Top-up: up to an additional 25 per cent for those employers that have been most adversely affected by COVID-19 (Picture #2). The top-up will be available to employers who have had a three-month average revenue decline of 50% or more compared to the same three months in 2019 (or the average of January and February 2020 if that method is chosen)

Please see the CRA website (https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/07/adapting-the-canada-emergency-wage-subsidy-to-protect-jobs-and-promote-growth.html) for more information regarding the changes to the CEWS as well as other COVID-19 related information and programs.

If you have any questions about this or any of the other COVID-19 related programs, including how to apply, please reach out to a member of the GSE team and they would be glad to assist you.

(Picture #1 – Base Calculation)

(Picture #2 – Top-up Calculation)

 

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On April 11, 2020 updated information regarding the CEWS was made available.

Some key items are summarized below. Please see the CRA website for updates and additional details on CEWS including calculating subsidy amount: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/04/additional-details-on-the-canada-emergency-wage-subsidy0.html

  • Eligible employers include individuals, taxable corporations, partnerships, non-profit organizations and registered charities
  • Subsidy is available to eligible employers who have seen a drop of at least 15% of revenues in March and 30% in subsequent months
  • Charities and non-profit organization are allowed to choose to either include or not to include government funding as part of their calculation, but this must be applied consistently
  • Employers will have a choice of using an average of revenues reduction for January and February 2020 OR for the same period in the prior year
  • Once an employer is approved, it will automatically qualify for the next period
  • There are three qualifying periods:
    1. Mach 15, 2020 to April 11, 2020 (based on March revenue decline)
    2. April 12, 2020 to May 9, 2020 (based on April revenue decline)
    3. May 10, 2020 to June 6, 2020 (based on May revenue decline)
  • Eligible employees include individuals who are employed in Canada, and will be available to employees other than those who have been without pay for 14 or more consecutive days in the eligibility period.
  • Employers can apply through their CRA My Business Account

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There are new proposed changes to the CEWS bill coming from the Government of Canada including:

  • A new option to use January and February as reference points
  • A 15% revenue reduction threshold instead of the 30% originally proposed for March
  • Charities and NPO’s may include or exclude government funding to measure revenue drop
  • The Government is actively asking companies to rehire their workers using the subsidy, even if the employees don’t work or work less than before.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian Government have announced a new lifeline to the economy to help Canadians and businesses get through the challenges caused by the pandemic.  The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy aims to prevent further job losses by allowing businesses to retain the employees they have on payroll who may not be working, while also encouraging businesses to re-hire workers that have already been laid off as a result of the crisis.  The program promises to provide a 75% wage subsidy to employers for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15th.

To learn if you are an Eligible Employer, how to calculate the amount of subsidy you will receive, and for information regarding how to apply for the subsidy you can read the full announcement at www.cananda.ca.

New COVID-19 Updates from the CRA

As part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan the CRA has extended a number of income tax filing and payment dates to help Canadians during this difficult time.
Some key highlights include:
• Interest and penalties will not be charged if deferred payments are made by September 1, 2020
• Individual filing date extended until June 1, 2020
• All Corporations with a filing date after March 18, 2020 and June 1, 2020 has been extended to June 1, 2020
• Trusts with a year end date of December 31, 2019 have a filing date extension to May 1, 2020
• Trusts with typical due dates in April or May have been extended until June 1, 2020

For additional information on these and other filing and payment extensions please see the CRA website:

www.canada.ca

CPA Canada Has The News!

Do you feel like there are constant updates and announcements from the Government?
Wanting to know more about how the tax deadlines have changed and what that means to you?
Are you looking for some resources related to working at home for the first time?
Don’t worry because CPA Canada has been working to compile resources for CPAs during the COVID-19 situation!

These resources can help provide valuable resources for both professionals as well as our clients in staying up to date with all of new and changing information.
We recommend that you take a look at the CPA Canada website for updates and additional information.

Information Regarding Employer Health Tax & WSIB

In response to the difficulties that businesses are facing in light of the COVID-19 situation, both the Ontario Government and WSIB have announced relief plans offering support to Ontario businesses.

This includes:

  • Increasing the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption for 2020 to $1 Million (previously $490,000)
  • Implementing a relief period for Ontario business for filing and remitting provincial taxes due to circumstances related to COVID-19
  • Allowing businesses to defer premium reporting and payments until August 31, 2020 for WSIB payments

Please see the following websites for more information regarding the changes to the Employer Health Tax and WSIB.

Changes to EHT: https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/tax/eht/index.html

Changes to WSIB: https://www.wsib.ca/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-update

Updated! – Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

On April 15, it was announced that there were some changes made to the CERB eligibility criteria. These rules will help give access to more Canadians impacted by COVID-19.

Changes include the following:

  • Individuals applying for CERB can now earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting CERB
  • Seasonal workers who have exhausted their regular EI benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work due to COVID-19
  • Extending CERB to workers who have recently exhausted their regulars EI benefits and are unable to find a job due to COVID-19

Other key criteria remain the same. Please see the CRA website for more information and directions to apply: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html

Please continue to check out our blog for more information as it becomes available and for information previously announced.

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Starting on April 6, 2020 Canadians who have been directly affected by COVID-19 can begin to apply for CERB.

This benefit will provide payments for employed and self-employed individuals who have stopped working due to reasons related to COVID-19.

To apply you must meet some basic criteria including:

  • Residing in Canada
  • Being aged 15 years or old when you apply
  • Have stopped working for due to COVID-19 and have not received any income or benefits for 14 days in a row
  • Are not currently receiving EI for the period that you apply
  • Earned a minimum of $5000 income in the last 12 months or in 2019

The CRA website goes through all of the criteria as well as provides additional information regarding eligibility periods and how to reapply once you have been approved for payments. It will also walk you through how to apply and get you set up with direct deposit so you can quickly receive your benefits.

Please note, that since there will be many people applying for this benefit the CRA has set out guidelines to help manage the flow of applicants.

CRA: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra.html#who

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The Government of Canada has introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to help people and businesses as a response to the issues facing Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed plan will provide $2000 a month for up to four months for workers who are unable to work during this time. This includes people who are sick, quarantined, people who are taking care of individuals who are sick with COVID-19 as well as parents who have to stay home without pay to care for children who are home due to school and daycare closures. This will also cover people who are not working due to a disruption to their work due to COVID-19, so they can easily return to work in the future.

This will apply to wage earners as well as contract and self-employed individuals who would not normally be eligible for EI.

If you qualify, you should be able to apply for CERB starting in April and can expect to receive payment in 10 days of application.

Please see the CRA website located below for more details, including links to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit as well as EI if you qualify.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/introduces-canada-emergency-response-benefit-to-help-workers-and-businesses.html

Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers – FAQ

The Canadian Revenue Agency has created a frequently asked questions information page to help businesses take advantage of wage subsidies made available to them.  What the subsidy consists of, which employers are eligible, and how to calculate and start receiving help are all discussed in the briefing.

The full update can be found on the Government of Canada website at:https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update/frequently-asked-questions-wage-subsidy-small-businesses.html

CRA Update Regarding Charities

The Charities Directorate has announced several changes as part of the government’s new action plan, and the Directorate has suspended all operations until further notice.  There are new digital services available to fill the needs of charities however, that will hopefully offset the pause in functions.

The full announcement can be found on the Canadian Government Charities website; https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/charities.html

Update Regarding St. Thomas And Aylmer Office Access

COVID-19 Update: In response to protecting our valued clients and staff during the COVID-19 situation, we have implemented some on-site precautionary measures to minimize in-person contact and promote social distancing. All in person meetings at the office and upcoming out-of-office engagements have been cancelled.

Drop-box: During office hours, both the Aylmer and St. Thomas locations have implemented a drop-box system whereby incoming deliveries will be quarantined for 3 days.  For larger deliveries that will not fit inside the drop box, please call ahead, or knock on the door and you will be directed accordingly.

Alternate Contact methods: Where possible, please call, e-mail or make arrangements to have a virtual meeting.  Many of our staff and partners are working from home, but have access to e-mail, the portal and voicemail, so please continue to contact them as you normally would using those methods.

Stay Home: We ask that you refrain from coming if you are exhibiting symptoms of the COVID-19 virus (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills), have been out of the country within the past 14 days, or have been in contact with anyone in either of these situations.

 

We appreciate you working with us as we continue to focus on serving your accounting and taxation needs.

A Special Update from Graham Scott Enns

To all our valued clients,

In light of the public health concerns regarding COVID-19, and the possibility of its spread in Southwestern Ontario, we wanted to share with you how Graham Scott Enns is addressing many of the challenges that we are all facing together, and offer our advice for the current tax season.

Our Business Continuity and Health and Safety teams have taken a strong lead, both in and out of our offices, to put several measures in place that will ensure we can continue to provide the excellent service and support you have come to expect from us, in any situation.  Our offices in Aylmer and St. Thomas are currently open, but we are prepared to have some staff, if not all, work remotely should the need arise.  We are fully committed to providing uninterrupted service during this busy season.

Though our offices remain open, we are advising all our clients to be mindful of coming in for everyone’s health and safety of course.  While it is always our pleasure to meet with you in person, we do offer voice and video conferencing to meet any communication needs.  We are also advising all our clients to use our secure web-portal for any electronic file transfers. If you have not used our portal before, we encourage you to reach out to us so we may invite you to that system.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or if we can provide any assistance during these next few months.

 

Congratulations!

The Partners of Graham Scott Enns LLP are pleased to announce Megan’s promotion to Partner effective January 1, 2020.  We are thrilled to offer this promotion from Associate to Partner as Megan’s expertise has proven invaluable to our clients, staff, partners and our continued growth.

Megan serves our clients with integrity and a dynamic approach in the areas of assurance, accounting, business advisory and tax. Megan is a skilled professional and provides sound advice to owner managed businesses, manufacturing companies, not-for-profit organizations and professional practices. She demonstrates exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to exceed expectations through her client centred approach.  Megan has broad technical expertise and is a key contributor to our assurance and training and professional development programs.

“We are thrilled to have Megan join our Partnership team at Graham Scott Enns LLP. Megan continues to provide our clients with exceptional client service and is a leader in promoting a learning culture to meet the career goals of our staff.  We are confident she will continue to serve our clients as their trusted advisor.”

Bill Luyks, CPA, CA                           Michael Stover, CPA, CA

Partner                                                Partner

Megan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2004.  She became a designated Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant in 2006, joined the firm as a Manager in 2008, and was promoted to an Associate in 2018.

As a leader in our firm, Megan leads us in the areas of promoting a learning culture, training and professional development, recruiting, mentoring, assurance, quality control, and team building.  Megan looks to the big picture, collaboration and each staff member’s goals to positively impact our team.

Megan grew up on a farm near Aylmer and currently resides in Aylmer with her husband Justin and her three children, Andrew, Amelia and Julia.

We extend our sincere congratulations to Megan from the Graham Scott Enns LLP team.