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Latest News
These tax changes in the latest fiscal update affect employee and seniors
There were very few broad-based tax changes in the federal government’s fall economic statement released on Tuesday, but there were a number of personal tax measures that may be of interest to various readers. Here’s a quick look at some of them.
For employees
Many of us will continue working from home for the foreseeable future, with an early 2022 return to the office now on hold for many Canadian workers in light of the escalating threat of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The government this week confirmed that employees who are working from home can continue to use the temporary flat rate method, introduced for the 2020 tax year, to calculate home office expense deductions.
As a reminder, there are two methods for claiming home office expenses as a result of COVID-19: the temporary flat rate method and the detailed method.
The temporary flat rate method allows an employee to simply claim $2 for each day they worked from home due to the pandemic. The government announced it would be increasing the maximum claim to $500 (from $400), and these rules will apply for the 2021 and 2022 tax years. Multiple people working from the same home can each make a claim. All days worked from home, either full time or part time, count. Vacation days, sick days and days on a leave of absence do not.
Under the detailed method, an employee must calculate all eligible expenses and can only claim expenses for the part of the year they worked from home, prorating the expenses based on the portion of the home used for work. Many eligible expenses qualify under this method, such as the cost of utilities, rent, maintenance, minor repair costs and internet access fees. Mortgage interest, property taxes, home insurance, capital expenses and depreciation (capital cost allowance) do not generally qualify.
For seniors
Many low-income seniors who receive Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Allowance benefits but who also received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or its successor, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) in 2020, have seen a dramatic decline in their benefit amounts for the current 2021-2022 benefit year, with some facing a total loss of this support. That’s because the GIS for the current benefit year (2021) is based on your net income for the prior year (2020), which includes any CERB or CRB received.
The government has proposed to provide up to $742.4 million for one-time payments to alleviate the financial hardship of GIS and Allowance recipients who received CERB or CRB in 2020 by restoring the amounts they lost. In a virtual stakeholders’ technical briefing immediately following the release of the economic statement, a government official stated it’s hoped these payments could be made by May 2022.
For students
Relief is also on the way for some students who applied for, and received, the CERB despite not being eligible and who currently find themselves facing potentially significant repayment obligations. The government has proposed to provide debt relief to students who received, but were ineligible for, the CERB but were eligible for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) by allowing their CERB-related debt to be offset by the amount they would have received from CESB during the same benefit period. The fiscal impact of this measure was estimated to be $67.9 million.
For teachers
Under current tax rules, teachers and early childhood educators can claim a 15-per-cent refundable “Eligible educator school supply tax credit” on up to $1,000 of expenses incurred for “eligible supplies.”
Eligible supplies must be purchased for use in a school or in a regulated child-care facility for the purpose of teaching or facilitating students’ learning, and include books, games and puzzles, containers (such as plastic boxes or banker boxes), and educational support software. They also include consumable goods, such as construction paper for activities, flashcards or activity centres.
The economic statement proposed to make the tax credit more generous by increasing the rate of the refundable tax credit to 25 per cent. In addition, new rules would broaden the locations where teaching supplies are permitted to be used by removing the requirement that teaching supplies must be used in a school or regulated child-care facility to be eligible.
The government also expanded the list of eligible durable goods to include certain electronic devices, such as calculators, webcams, microphones and headphones, speakers, multimedia projectors, printers, and laptop, desktop and tablet computers.
Luxury tax
The spring 2021 federal budget proposed to introduce a luxury tax on the sale of cars and personal aircraft with a retail price of more than $100,000, and boats costing over $250,000. The tax would be calculated at the lesser of 20 per cent of the value above those thresholds or 10 per cent of the full value of the luxury car, boat, or personal aircraft.
Consultations recently concluded on the design of this measure and the government announced it is working to incorporate the results into proposed draft legislation, which is expected to be released in early 2022.
Underused Housing Tax
The government in the 2021 federal budget announced its intention to implement a national, annual one-per-cent tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian-owned residential real estate in Canada that is considered to be “vacant” or “underused.” Consultations were held over the summer, and the feedback received will be integrated into the final design of the tax rules.
Additional exemptions were added, including an exemption for vacation/recreational properties, which would apply if the property is located in an area of Canada that is not an urban area within either a census metropolitan area or a census agglomeration having 30,000 or more residents, and is personally used by the owner (or the owner’s spouse or common-law partner) for at least four weeks in the calendar year.
This tax would be effective for the 2022 calendar year and initial Underused Housing Tax returns for the 2022 calendar year would be required to be filed with the Canada Revenue Agency on or before April 30, 2023.
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Financial Post
By Jamie Golombek, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU, TEP is the managing director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC Private Wealth in Toronto
Government introduces legislation to create jobs and implement targeted COVID-19 support
With one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world, restrictions are carefully being eased in our communities and at our border. Businesses across the country are safely reopening, the economy is rebounding, over a million jobs have been created, and employment is back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s why, last month, the government announced it is pivoting from broad-based economic support to targeted measures that provide support where it is needed, in order to create jobs and growth and prudently manage government spending.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, introduced BillC-2 in Parliament to implement the recently announced measures. This bill would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10% and increase the subsidy rate to 50%. The extension would help businesses continue to hire back workers, increase hours, and create the additional jobs Canada needs for a robust recovery.
- Deliver targeted support to businesses still facing significant pandemic-related challenges. Support would be available through three streams:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to, for example, hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, and restaurants, with a subsidy rate of up to 75%. The types of business that would be eligible are detailed in the proposed legislation and in the backgrounder associated with today’s announcement.
- Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to other businesses that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50%.
- Local Lockdown Program, which would provide businesses that face temporary new local lockdowns up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs.
To ensure workers continue to have support and that no one is left behind, the proposed legislation would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit until May7, 2022, and increase the maximum duration of benefits by 2 weeks. This would extend the caregiving benefit from 42 to 44 weeks and the sickness benefit from 4 to 6 weeks.
- Establish the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit which would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly impacted by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown in their region up until May 7, 2022. Eligible workers would be able to apply to receive this support retroactively from October 24, 2021.
This proposed legislation would support workers and businesses still affected by the pandemic and ensure Canada’s economic recovery leaves no one behind.
Quotes
“As our recovery has begun to take hold, we have moved past the darkest days of the pandemic to a new phase. We have recovered over a million jobs, borders are reopening, businesses are getting back up to speed, vaccination rates are high – and will get higher as our children are protected by their doses. That is why we are adapting our income and business support measures to target support to those who continue to need it the most. With today’s legislation, we are pivoting to what we hope will be the final stage of recovery. I hope Parliament will pass this legislation expeditiously so that Canadians can get the support they need and without undue delay.”
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our government has been there for workers and provided them with the support they need to stay healthy and safe, and to stay afloat. With many job vacancies currently and a more positive outlook in terms of the unemployment rate, itis time to transition away from broad economic measures to more targeted supports for businesses and workers. We want to ensure that if a decision is taken to impose a temporary lockdown to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19, workers who are impacted will have access to the help they need.”
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
“We promised our tourism sector that we would deliver targeted support to get them through the end of this pandemic. We have delivered. We know that our economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers. If passed, this legislation, alongside other supports we have made available, would ensure our sector gets the help it needs.”
Quick facts
The total cost of these measures, from October 24, 2021, through May 7, 2022, is estimated at$7.4 billion. This compares to the $289 billion the Government of Canada has spent on direct income and business supports since the start of the pandemic.
Budget 2021 introduced the Canada Recovery Hiring Program to help employers hire the workers they need to recover and grow, with a subsidy of up to 50% of additional eligible salary or wages. This support gives employers the certainty they need to rehire and expand operations.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has helped more than 5.3 million Canadians keep their jobs, with over $97 billion in support already paid out through the program to help employers re-hire workers and avoid layoffs.
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support have helped more than 215,000organizations with over $7 billion in support for rent, mortgage, and other expenses.
The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit has delivered $3.74 billion to 486,910 Canadians. The benefit provides income support to employed and self-employed people who are unable to work because they must care for their child under 12 years old or a family member who needs supervised care. It applies if their school, regular program, or facility is closed or unavailable to them due to COVID-19, or because they are sick, self-isolating, or at risk of serious health complications due to COVID-19.
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit has delivered over $829 million to 758,670 Canadians. The benefit provides income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are unable to work because they are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID-19, or have an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of getting COVID-19.
Projected GDP growth for Canada in 2021 is 5.7% according to the IMF and 5.4% according to the OECD.
Canada has now recovered more than 100% of the jobs lost during the pandemic, compared to81% in the U.S.
On August 9, 2021, Canada opened its borders, for non-essential travel, to those American citizens and permanent residents who are currently residing in the United States who are fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada. On September 7, 2021, Canada opened its borders to any fully vaccinated traveler who has completed a full course of vaccination at least 14days prior to entering Canada and who meet specific entry requirements.
Government introduces legislation to create jobs and implement targeted COVID-19 support
With one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world, restrictions are carefully being eased in our communities and at our border. Businesses across the country are safely reopening, the economy is rebounding, over a million jobs have been created, and employment is back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s why, last month, the government announced it is pivoting from broad-based economic support to targeted measures that provide support where it is needed, in order to create jobs and growth and prudently manage government spending.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, introduced BillC-2 in Parliament to implement the recently announced measures. This bill would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10% and increase the subsidy rate to 50%. The extension would help businesses continue to hire back workers, increase hours, and create the additional jobs Canada needs for a robust recovery.
- Deliver targeted support to businesses still facing significant pandemic-related challenges. Support would be available through three streams:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to, for example, hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, and restaurants, with a subsidy rate of up to 75%. The types of business that would be eligible are detailed in the proposed legislation and in the backgrounder associated with today’s announcement.
- Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to other businesses that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50%.
- Local Lockdown Program, which would provide businesses that face temporary new local lockdowns up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs.
To ensure workers continue to have support and that no one is left behind, the proposed legislation would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit until May7, 2022, and increase the maximum duration of benefits by 2 weeks. This would extend the caregiving benefit from 42 to 44 weeks and the sickness benefit from 4 to 6 weeks.
- Establish the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit which would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly impacted by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown in their region up until May 7, 2022. Eligible workers would be able to apply to receive this support retroactively from October 24, 2021.
This proposed legislation would support workers and businesses still affected by the pandemic and ensure Canada’s economic recovery leaves no one behind.
Quotes
“As our recovery has begun to take hold, we have moved past the darkest days of the pandemic to a new phase. We have recovered over a million jobs, borders are reopening, businesses are getting back up to speed, vaccination rates are high – and will get higher as our children are protected by their doses. That is why we are adapting our income and business support measures to target support to those who continue to need it the most. With today’s legislation, we are pivoting to what we hope will be the final stage of recovery. I hope Parliament will pass this legislation expeditiously so that Canadians can get the support they need and without undue delay.”
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our government has been there for workers and provided them with the support they need to stay healthy and safe, and to stay afloat. With many job vacancies currently and a more positive outlook in terms of the unemployment rate, itis time to transition away from broad economic measures to more targeted supports for businesses and workers. We want to ensure that if a decision is taken to impose a temporary lockdown to save lives and stop the spread of COVID-19, workers who are impacted will have access to the help they need.”
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
“We promised our tourism sector that we would deliver targeted support to get them through the end of this pandemic. We have delivered. We know that our economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers. If passed, this legislation, alongside other supports we have made available, would ensure our sector gets the help it needs.”
Quick facts
The total cost of these measures, from October 24, 2021, through May 7, 2022, is estimated at$7.4 billion. This compares to the $289 billion the Government of Canada has spent on direct income and business supports since the start of the pandemic.
Budget 2021 introduced the Canada Recovery Hiring Program to help employers hire the workers they need to recover and grow, with a subsidy of up to 50% of additional eligible salary or wages. This support gives employers the certainty they need to rehire and expand operations.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has helped more than 5.3 million Canadians keep their jobs, with over $97 billion in support already paid out through the program to help employers re-hire workers and avoid layoffs.
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support have helped more than 215,000organizations with over $7 billion in support for rent, mortgage, and other expenses.
The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit has delivered $3.74 billion to 486,910 Canadians. The benefit provides income support to employed and self-employed people who are unable to work because they must care for their child under 12 years old or a family member who needs supervised care. It applies if their school, regular program, or facility is closed or unavailable to them due to COVID-19, or because they are sick, self-isolating, or at risk of serious health complications due to COVID-19.
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit has delivered over $829 million to 758,670 Canadians. The benefit provides income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are unable to work because they are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID-19, or have an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of getting COVID-19.
Projected GDP growth for Canada in 2021 is 5.7% according to the IMF and 5.4% according to the OECD.
Canada has now recovered more than 100% of the jobs lost during the pandemic, compared to81% in the U.S.
On August 9, 2021, Canada opened its borders, for non-essential travel, to those American citizens and permanent residents who are currently residing in the United States who are fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada. On September 7, 2021, Canada opened its borders to any fully vaccinated traveler who has completed a full course of vaccination at least 14 days prior to entering Canada and who meet specific entry requirements.
Some CERB recipients set to get notices they must repay portion of aid money
OTTAWA — Some Canadians who received a pandemic jobless benefit are set to receive notices that they have to repay some of the aid they received last year.
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was rolled out at the onset of the pandemic during a historic drop in the labour market — three million jobs lost and two million people with hours cut. The government sent $2,000 payments to some recipients who applied through Service Canada as an advance on the first four weeks to help households who saw sudden loss of earnings.
The idea was to reconcile the payment at some point during the time CERB was available, which is why many who got the advance saw a break in benefits during the summer of 2020.
The government now says there are still recipients who owe some or all of the $2,000, specifically those who were not entitled to the aid or didn’t collect CERB for at least 20 weeks.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says anyone who needs it will get a flexible repayment schedule and there will be no penalties or interest charged on the overpayment.
“Canadians will not be put into financial hardship by having to repay emergency benefits they received,” Qualtrough says in a statement.
Those who owe money will get a notice from Service Canada outlining how much they owe, the process to repay, and how they can appeal the decision.