Office Closure Update, Personal Taxes, Government Supports

As the COVID-19 health crisis enters its 5th week, we wanted to provide you with an update on our office operations as well as an update for various measures offered by governments.

Our Office

Our office will remain closed until the Government and health authorities remove restrictions, and we will advise you as soon as we are able to do so. In the interim, our team continues to provide uninterrupted client service remotely. Please continue to transfer information to us electronically, and reach out to any of our team members, or go to our website and look for the SECURE FILE transfer link to transfer files.

Daily, from 9-1, our office is open to receive deliveries.

Personal Tax Filing

The Government of Canada announced a deadline extension for filing personal returns from April 30 to June 1st. Despite this extension, we encourage you to electronically submit your files and information to us as soon as possible, to allow for ample time for processing and avoid potential backlogs and delays.

Government Measures

Various levels of government have announced several programs since March, when this crisis began. Many of these programs have changed, from the initial announcement. We wanted to highlight the most significant programs that may assist you and your business. For additional details, please review our previous updates under the COVID 19 section of the website.

• Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)- this program is available for employees and self-employed individuals who cannot work because of COVID 19. This may assist any of your employees that have been recently been layed off. This program is also available for business owners who received dividends from their company in the past. You can apply for this program now.
• Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – 75% Wage Subsidy – available for businesses that have suffered a 30% revenue decrease resulting from COVID 19. There are various tests to the 30% decrease in revenue and the subsidy covers a 3 month period and there is a maximum subsidy per employee. Owner/manager salary is also eligible for the subsidy. Applications are not online yet, but to apply, the company must have a CRA My Business Account
• Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWS) – 10% Wage Subsidy – available for businesses that do not qualify for the 75% Wage Subsidy. If you already are part of the TWS, and you feel you will qualify for the CEWS, any benefit received can be used to reduce the payment under CEWS. There are maximums under this program, both per employee and per company.
• Rent Deferral – if you rent your business premises, you should discuss the Nova Scotia Rent Deferral Program with your landlord. This would assist with your immediate cash flow needs
• Loan Payment Deferral/ Line of Credit Increases – you should discuss loan payment deferrals and line of credit increases with your financial institutions to assist with your cash flow needs
• Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) – Federal Government will provide $40,000 Interest-Free Loans to qualified companies. The application is done through your bank and has started already. There are certain loan forgiveness privileges available for $10,000 of the loan balance, meaning a windfall of $10,000 for your company. The criteria are active companies having payroll in 2019 of between $50,000 and $1,000.000.
• Nova Scotia Small Business Impact Grant – For businesses ordered to close, or substantially curtailed operations as ordered by the Public Health Orders. The grant is 15% of sales, from April 2019, or February 2020 to a maximum of $5,000 per company. The application is online for this program.

We are here to help! We expect you to reach out with any questions you have about the above programs. As a famous politician once said, “I am entitled to my entitlements”. So, we want to assist all of our clients get the appropriate support if they are impacted by COVID 19.