| KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 19, 2015) - Canada Revenue Agency
The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of National Revenue, and Ron Cannan, Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country, met today with leaders from the Kelowna business community to discuss priorities and hear their suggestions ahead of the 2015 federal budget.
The discussions centered on how to continue advancing the Government of Canada's low-tax plan for job creation, economic growth, and long-term prosperity, for the benefit of families and communities from coast to coast to coast. Minister Findlay highlighted tax reduction measures and benefits for families recently proposed by the Government, including the increase of the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), the introduction of a Family Tax Cut, and the increase of the Child Care Expense Deduction.
Minister Findlay also highlighted the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to cut red tape and to introduce, simplify, and enhance services to meet the needs of Canadian small and medium businesses. Minister Findlay noted the many actions the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has taken to reduce the red tape burden for businesses, including:
- Through the CRA's secure online self-service portal, businesses now have greater control over more than 50 different transactions such as registering for services, making payments, filing returns, making account changes, asking questions, viewing balances, and, starting October 20, managing banking information online and signing up for pre-authorized debit services;
- The remittance thresholds for employer source deductions were revised to reduce the maximum number of payments that businesses are required to submit to the CRA, in the process eliminating more than 800,000 payroll remittances for over 50,000 small and medium-sized employers;
- Recognizing that a concise and consistent plain language approach to the millions of notices and letters sent to Canadians will help to ensure taxpayers are better supported in meeting their tax obligations and accessing the benefits to which they may be entitled, the CRA is improving the clarity and simplicity of its communications with individuals and businesses; and
- The CRA launched its first-ever mobile app, the Business Tax Reminders app, which allows small and medium-sized businesses to create custom reminders and alerts for dates related to instalment payments, returns, and remittances.
The CRA works closely with many business and other stakeholder associations on its red tape reduction agenda, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. Public consultations were held throughout the fall, online and in person in more than 20 communities across Canada. The feedback from these consultations will help the CRA set priorities to continue to cut red tape over the coming years.
To ensure that all Canadians can participate in the pre-budget consultation process, the federal government has launched online consultations. Those interested in participating can find more information on the Department of Finance Canada website.
Quick Facts
- The proposed Family Tax Cut will allow a higher-income spouse to transfer up to $50,000 of taxable income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket. The credit will provide tax relief of up to $2,000 for couples with children under the age of 18, effective for the 2014 tax year.
- Starting on January 1, 2015, the Government has proposed to increase the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) to $160 per month for children under age six, and to expand it to provide $60 per month per child aged six through 17.
- Beginning in the 2015 tax year, the Government has proposed to increase the Child Care Expense Deduction amount by $1,000, from $7,000 to $8,000, for children under age seven; to $5,000 from $4,000 for children aged seven through 16; and to $11,000 from $10,000 for children who are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.
- The CRA's 2012 red tape reduction consultations led to improvements in several areas, such as the availability and clarity of tax information, online services, the collection of information, reporting obligations and frequency of filing, and more. The results can be found in the Focussing on Small Business Priorities: Canada Revenue Agency Consultations on Cutting Red Tape report.
- In the fall of 2014, the CRA held public consultations with business owners and their bookkeepers and stakeholders, online and in person in more than 20 communities across Canada. A report on the consultations in expected in the spring of 2015.
- In 2013-2014, the CRA mailed 106 million pieces of external administrative correspondence to taxpayers.
Quotes
"The Canadian Government remains focused on promoting economic growth, job creation, and long-term prosperity. To do so, we have introduced several tax relief measures to support Canadian families as well as invested in infrastructure projects which will create jobs and increase economic productivity in Canadian communities. As we continue our budget consultations, we want to hear from Canadian businesses on how we can remain fiscally responsible and continue to prosper in 2015. I look forward to future discussions with the Kelowna business community, and I want to thank them for their valuable feedback today."
- The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of National Revenue
"The Canadian Government is committed to reducing red tape and enhancing service delivery to better meet the needs of small businesses. Ongoing consultations have provided members of the business community with the opportunity to join the discussion and provide feedback directly to the Government. We are now reviewing the vast amounts of information submitted to us through our fall consultations to determine how we can continue to effectively reduce red tape. By doing so, we will help businesses to grow, thus creating jobs and stimulating economic growth across the country."
- The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of National Revenue
"I want to thank Minister Findlay for consulting with the Kelowna business community and providing them with the opportunity to share their ideas ahead of the federal budget. By focusing on keeping taxes low, cutting red tape, and investing in infrastructure projects, the government will help to create local jobs and increase long-term prosperity in our community."
- Ron Cannan, M.P. for Kelowna-Lake Country
"The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is pleased to have hosted today's discussion with Minister Findlay. Our members appreciate the opportunity to share their ideas on reducing red tape and enhancing services and on how to improve the relationship businesses have with the CRA. We thank the CRA for reaching out to the local business community and we look forward to future consultations."
- Caroline Grover, CEO Kelowna, Chamber of Commerce
Associated Links
Red Tape Reduction |
