Hello 2019
By Tania Arora, Staff Reporter
The new year calls for some new rules and changes.
The Canadian government has it all planned for the 2019 Federal Tax changes. The changes will cover a range of sectors including small businesses, parental leave benefits, housing, and cannabis sales.
In a December press release by the Department of Finance, the Department mentioned their concern for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The press release stated, “Every day, in communities all across the country, Canada’s small business owners and entrepreneurs work hard to grow their businesses and create the jobs that middle-class families rely on.”
Last January, the government reduced the small business tax rate down from 10.5 percent to 10 percent. This January 1, they followed up with a further cut down to nine percent.
In order to support low-income workers, the government has replaced the Working Income Tax Benefit with the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB). The move will help more than 2 million workers and their families.
Apart from these, three immediate changes were introduced in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement. These changes related to businesses being able to write off the cost of certain manufacturing equipment, clean energy equipment, and other new assets.
In order to promote sound fiscal management and attract investments, the government report provided long-term economic and fiscal projections to the 2055 to 56 fiscal year. These projections suggest sustainability over a long period of time.
All the changes were welcomed by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, an association that links companies and the federal government. It shares the rules and changes by government with its members to ensure fair and legal trade practices.
Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, said in the December press release, “In 2015, Canadians chose a government with a plan to strengthen and grow the middle class, and a focus on making sure that the benefits of growth were felt by everyone. Canadians are practical and pragmatic; they want to see decisions based on facts and evidence, with solutions that work and deliver real, meaningful results for people. With the new tax measures coming into force in 2019, this is exactly what we are delivering.”
