GBA LLP Blog

Canada Emergency Business Account Loan - A Refresher

CEBA loan came into effect April 9^th, 2020. This provided companies with a $40,000 loan at zero interest and zero repayments till December 31, 2022.

If the company repays $30,000 of this loan by December 31, 2022, then the $10,000 balance is forgivable. If the company does not repay the $30,000 by December 31, 2022, then the remaining balance is converted into a 3 year term loan at a 5% interest, and there is no forgivable amount.

Recently CRA has indicated that this loan will be increased to $60,000 – more on this later.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce will distribute 62 grants of $10,000 to small Canadian Businesses.  The funds are being donated by Salesforce (NYSE:CRM).

Application deadline is June 12th at 8 pm ET.  Funds will be distributed shortly after successful applicants have been announced in late June.

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.

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.

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.

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 (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.

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.

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 6^th, 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.

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,