Chamber This Week – October 19, 2018

October 19, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

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Chamber This Week – October 12, 2018

October 12, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

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Good social media is good business

October 11, 2018 | Network News

5 Minutes for Business:

Small businesses in Canada face many challenges on their path to growth and even more so in becoming globally competitive enterprises.

We have heard the statistics before: SMEs account for 99.7% of Canada’s businesses, but they contribute only 25% of our goods and services exports and less than a third of our GDP. How does that stack up against our G7 peers? In those countries, SMEs account for 50% of GDP and 56% of employment. Canada’s record in scaling up small businesses into larger, globally competitive enterprises has to improve.

Recent research highlights the potential for Canadian SMEs to become much more competitive in the scaling process. One of the tools that helps Canadian companies grow globally is social media. It is easy to use, inexpensive and provides access to new customers in a variety of ways. Mobile connections are only accelerating that access because we can now purchase from anywhere at any time.

A whopping 70% of small Canadian companies use some form of social media and most use several. Instagram’s new study found nearly three in five SMEs agree that social media helps to connect with customers in their cities. Additionally, over half also believe that it helps them find customers in other cities, provinces and countries. The study mentions that these online networks are used by small businesses to identify, attract and hire employees that are passionate about their products and services.

We know that more women use social media than men, resulting in women-owned businesses being more likely to adopt social media. This is important because we know that entrepreneurship has the highest ratio of gender inequality in the workplace, with only one in five SMEs being majority-owned by women. The adept use of social media by female business owners has the potential to narrow this gap and make a meaningful contribution to Canadian economic growth. Both the study by Instagram and a second study by SME research firm Clutch demonstrate that social media communities create opportunities for female entrepreneurs, help empower women-run businesses and lower the barriers to entry for women.

Not surprisingly, SME optimism and enthusiasm for social media is also partially driven by a younger demographic.

A majority of millennial SME owners agree that their business is stronger because of social media and that it is more important to their company than a website, which is why this age group plans to maintain or increase their investment in these platforms. Considering that millennials are now the largest cohort of the Canadian workforce, their social media use will increasingly play an important part of Canadian economic growth and competitiveness.

The impact social media has as a means to reach customers and encourage female entrepreneurship and millennial business ownership will continue to grow. We are quickly approaching a point where we will consider it a key driver of Canada’s ability to scale up firms, achieve inclusive growth and compete globally in an increasingly digital economy.

In an ever-changing society, using social media not only ensures our companies and economy remain competitive, but is, ultimately, just good business.

Thank you to our sponsor:

For more information, please contact: policy@chamber.ca

By the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

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Buying property from non-residents – avoiding expensive tax mistakes

October 5, 2018 | Network News

In a recent court case decision Kau, A. v. The Queen(TCC) Docket: 2014-1304(IT)G, Mr. Anibal Kau (Appellant) had appealed an earlier (February 20th, 2013) assessment of a withholding tax that was levied following purchase of a condominium in Toronto. The vendor, Mr.  Mehran Yekta was from Danville, California, U.S.Aand not resident of Canada. This appeal heard in December 2017 before Honorable Justice B. Russell in Toronto was dismissed with costs. Clearly, not a good outcome for the Appellant. Why was this punitive outcome levied on the buyer and how one can avoid such costly errors.

How did the transaction with Anibal Kau fail? Mr. Yekta as a seller had not obtained a clearance certification from the Minister and further the legal representative of the buyer failed to deduct a withholding tax which is 25% of the gross sale proceeds that was due to be remitted to the Minister. Consequently, the buyer was held liable for the taxes as per the law.

Lessons learnt: This case revisits some key checklists that potential buyers and their professionals should be concerned about, especially, when the seller is not a resident of Canada. An important item is to ensure and verify the residency of the seller and never assume, mistakes can be expensive! If so, there are reporting, and tax withholding obligations and failures can lead to potentially punitive tax costs to the buyer. In the present case, for a property purchase price of $368,000 in 2013, tax compliance failures resulted in the Minister levying $92,000 on the buyer.

What steps can be taken to avoid a mis-step and costly tax penalties? Here are a few (is not to be considered exhaustive) of the buyer’s checklist that can help be compliant with the law and avoid costly tax errors.

Parties involved and residency: Identify all parties involved in the sale transaction and in particular, establish the seller’s residency status with respect to the Canadian tax system. The process of concluding on a residency can be complex and it is advisable to use tax and legal professionals who are familiar in dealing with such situations.

Sellers obligation: Obtaining a clearance certificate

  1. Is this a proposed sale with a future closing date in target? If so, has the seller already obtained a clearance certificate from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); the CRA requires at least 30 days prior to sale date to issue a clearance certificate. A copy of the certificate needs to be sent for the buyer’s record;
  2. Has the sale occurred? If so, you must inform the CRA by registered mail of the sale and remit the withholding tax amounts, no later than 10 days after the date of sale – there is a $25 per day of delay as penalty;
  3. Use a tax accountant with experience in dealing with clearance certificates.

Buyer’s liability:

  1. Have you made reasonable effort to establish the residency status of your seller? This can be complex to determine and use your professional tax consultant to clarify what is an acceptable standard for reasonableness for the CRA;
  2. If the seller is not a Canadian resident, is there a clearance certificate obtained from the seller? If not, has your legal representative communicated about this requirement?
  3. If the buyer has not received the clearance certificate, buyer is liable for the tax ownings under subsection 116(5) of the Income Tax Act. In simple terms, the buyer must communicate clearly to the seller (the legal representative of the seller) on a withholding tax on the sale price and the buyers tax liability;
  4. In the event the clearance certificate is not received, the buyer must withhold 25% of the gross sale price and this amount must then be remitted to the Receiver General of Canada.

Note that since there is no time limitation to the imposition of any buyer’s liability, the CRA can impose the taxes owing at any time when it becomes aware of the sale transaction. There are certain tax payer relief provisions available, but this is not automatic, and the Minister must consider the buyer’s circumstances to waive or limit the liabilities.

Limitation to buyer’s liability: There are circumstances where the buyer is not liable to withholding taxes; such as reasonable effort towards establishing seller’s Canadian residency, or the property is treaty protected or is an excluded property, or is a deemed disposition upon death etc. There can be other situations where there is no buyer’s liability. Please consult your professional tax consultant for more information.

Disclaimer:This article is only for information purposes and is not a substitute for an actual tax planning or to be considered as a tax advice. Any errors or omission is solely the authors responsibility. Always, contact your professional tax advisor before undertaking any action.

Author: Balaji Katlai PhD, CPA, CGAis an independent consultant and works from both Montreal and Burlington, and Niagara region. If you have any comments or suggestions, Balaji can be reached at bk@bkpc-cpa.com

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Statement from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce regarding NAFTA deal in principle

October 1, 2018 | Network News

From the Honourable Perrin Beatty, President and CEO

“The Chamber is delighted to learn of a deal in principle for a renewed NAFTA. This step forward comes as a relief for our members who have been searching for much-needed clarity and predictability in the relationship with our NAFTA partners.

As with any trade agreement of this breadth and scope, the Chamber will want to carefully review the details before making a final assessment. Specifically, we will seek clarity on how the agreement addresses the existing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, as well as how it will ensure that tariffs and quotas upon Canada’s auto sector exports will be avoided.

The Chamber’s members will also look closely at how the agreement treats specific sectors, including dairy and government procurement, and how IP will be dealt with across several industries. Our retail members will also want to evaluate the impacts of any changes to the de minimis level on their domestic sales.

While we applaud the achievement of an agreement, Canada must remember the lesson thIs turbulent period has provided: we must never again allow ourselves to be overly-dependent upon one trading partner. We must continue to diversify our markets to protect ourselves from capricious and unfair actions in the future.

Additionally, we urgently need to boost Canada’s competitiveness. Our members, Canadian businesses from all sectors across the country, continue to be woefully disadvantaged compared to our international peers.

For Canada to prosper as a trading nation, we must overhaul our regulatory and taxation frameworks, which are suffocating the ability of our businesses to innovate, to compete for talent on the global stage, to deliver nation-building projects, and to attract foreign investment. We must also redouble our efforts to dismantle the remaining barriers to internal trade and mobility.

The Chamber congratulates Minister Freeland and Canada’s negotiating team for delivering an agreement that remains trilateral and that will continue to deliver prosperity for Canada, and for doing so under extraordinarily challenging conditions.

For now, the 200,000 businesses that comprise the Chamber’s network can breathe a little easier and return their focus to where it should be: serving their customers and providing jobs for their employees. The Chamber will continue to advocate on their behalf so that, together, we can build a Canada that wins.”

Original article: http://www.chamber.ca/media/news-releases/20180930/

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Chamber This Week – September 28, 2018

September 28, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

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Niagara College to officially open Canada’s first Teaching Distillery Oct. 4

September 28, 2018 | Members in the News

Niagara College will celebrate the opening of Canada’s first Teaching Distillery, home of its new Artisan Distilling (Graduate Certificate) program, at a special event at the College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus on Thursday, Oct. 4.

WHAT: Media are invited to attend the grand opening celebration, see the College’s new Teaching Distillery, meet the first cohort of Artisan Distilling students, and speak with NC faculty, staff and special guest Dr. Don Livermore, master blender at Hiram Walker & Sons.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Niagara College Teaching Distillery (beside the Wine Visitor + Education Centre)
NC Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus, 135 Taylor Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake

WHO: Dr. Don Livermore, College president Dan Patterson, NC’s distiller David Dickson, students, faculty and staff from the Artisan Distilling program will be available for media interviews and photos.

The Artisan Distilling program provides an in-depth understanding of the scientific, technological and business aspects of distilling and fermentation. Students gain relevant skills, knowledge and experiences in the production cycle of distilled spirits, including production, testing/analysis, and packaging/merchandising

Graduates will go on to pursue careers working with both small- and large-volume distilleries as distillation technicians, product development and quality control experts, export licensees, sales and operations professionals and more. Learn more at https://www.canadianfoodandwineinstitute.ca/cfwiprograms/artisan-distilling/

Students will receive hands-on experience with industry standard equipment in a brand new 2,500 square-foot distillery facility, located on the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus, directly adjacent to the College’s Wine Visitor + Education Centre. Five stills, four mash tuns and ten fermenters allow for on-site production of a wide variety of distilled products. The Teaching Distillery adds to NC’s other on-campus learning enterprises in the Canadian Food and Wine Institute, including the NC Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery, and Benchmark Restaurant.

Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.

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Niagara-on-the-Lake

September 21, 2018 |

[[“Title”,”First Name”,”Last Name”,”Email”],[“Lord Mayor”,”Gary”,”Zalepa”,”gary.zalepa@notl.com“],[“Deputy Lord Mayor”,”Erwin”,”Wiens”,”erwin.wiens@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Tim”,”Balasiuk”,”tim.balasiuk@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Gary”,”Burroughs”,”gary.burroughs@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Wendy”,”Cheropita”,”wendy.cheropita@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Maria”,”Mavridis”,”maria.mavridis@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Sandra”,”O’Connor”,”sandra.oconnor@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Nick”,”Ruller”,”nick.ruller@notl.com“],[“Councillor”,”Adriana”,”Vizzari”,”adriana.vizzari@notl.com“]]

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Chamber This Week – September 21, 2018

September 21, 2018 | Non-Advocacy

NETWORK

NEWS

Canadian economy surges on export growth but falls short of forecasts

New Industry, New Taxes, New Fees: Undermining the Fight Against the Illegal Cannabis Market

As of October 17, Canadian adults will be able to legally purchase and consume cannabis for recreational purposes; a year and a half after the federal government introduced its legislation to do so. It will mark the beginning of a fascinating battle between a new regulated industry and the existing illegal market that Canadians are currently turning to for recreational cannabis use.

This illegal market is the reason why the government made Canada the first large developed country to legalize recreational cannabis, seeking to displace illicit sales that profit organized crime to the tune of billions of dollars per year.

Read more in 5 Minutes for Business

U.S. trade commission kills duties placed on Canadian newsprint

Ontario Chamber Launches Small Business Week Toolkit

To assist Chamber members, the OCC has put together a toolkit to help raise awareness of small businesses in the community. The kit coincides with the relaunch of the Small Business Week website, which will go live in the last week of September.

The kit contains a campaign overview, social graphics, key messaging points, a poster, the Small Business week logo and stamp. The kit is evolving and more content will be added, so check it frequently for new material.

View the Small Business Week Toolkit

Ontario to cut natural gas price October 1

Have Your Say On the Effectiveness of Government Services

Ontario’s Government for the People is continuing to take action in restoring trust and accountability in the province’s public finances. In August, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy announced the next step in engaging with Ontarians by launching a three week online public consultation.

Chamber members are encouraged to complete the online survey, and tell the government how well their services are working. The closing date for responses is September 21.

Take the Survey

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