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On Monday, July 27 a couple of highly anticipated pandemic support measures were passed into law: the changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) for Period 5 forward and the one-time payments to disabled persons. This latter provision extended the tax-free disability payment to two categories of recipients who will not require a Disability Tax Credit to receive it.
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On July 17, 2020, a redesigned Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was proposed with substantive changes over previous periods and the new rules are very complex. The good news is that the program has been extended to December 19, 2020 and potentially all businesses with a revenue loss over 0% could qualify for a wage subsidy.
Between a rock and a hard place. That could well describe how Canada’s suffering business owners feel about the complete lack of direction that followed Monday’s announcement that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) has been extended until December 2020. It’s meant to help restart the nation’s economy, but you won’t find a single reference to this on CRA’s website as of today. Here’s why that’s a very big deal:
Business owners remain financially stranded in Canada. According to a new survey by the CFIB, 33% of business owners have had to dip into their personal savings just to stay afloat during the pandemic crisis, 26% of them have had to increase credit card debt, and 8% of them tapped into their retirement savings early. That scenario is bolstered by a July 15 survey from Stats Canada which confirms the extent of the financial burden borne by business owners. A continued lifeline is critical to clinch Canada’s economic recovery.