Toronto, March 25, 2020 — We are encouraged by today’s announcement to defer payments of the Employer Health Tax (EHT), Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premiums and Business Education Taxes, in addition to other provincial taxes. These actions will leave more money in businesses to help them survive during this challenging time. However, we implore the province to work with the federal government to add HST remittances to their list of deferrals, which represent significant bills with rapidly approaching due dates.
We were further pleased to see that the government increased the EHT threshold to $1 million for one year. This has been a long-time CFIB ask, and we urge the government to make it permanent.
We wish the government had included more protection for employees from layoffs through a made-in-Ontario wage subsidy, or at least join us in asking the federal government to increase their current wage subsidy of 10 per cent to 75 per cent of wages for all employers. This would help to keep employees on payrolls and avoid layoffs, allowing for a quicker economic recovery.
Small business – the engine of Ontario’s economy – is sputtering. CFIB’s latest survey shows that nearly one-third of small businesses in Ontario might close within the month without more COVID-19 relief.
Ontario is facing a health and economic crisis of unparalleled proportions: we look forward to working with government on additional business relief. Drastic times require drastic measures to fight this crisis on both fronts.
-Julie Kwiecinski, Director of Provincial Affairs, Ontario
-Ryan Mallough, Director of Provincial Affairs, Ontario
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Milena Stanoeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 110,000 members across every industry and region, including 42,000 in Ontario. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.