Beacon Heights Business Solutions
145 George St East L1B 1J5 Newcastle, ON, Canada

As part of a long-established plan, minimum wage rates in Ontario will increase on October 1, 2020. The intention of this measure is to provide predictability and certainty for businesses while also being fair for workers. The increase to the general minimum wage will be 25 cents, which will bring the new rate to $14.25 an hour. More information about the general and specialized minimum wage rates that will take effect on October 1, 2020 can be found here: https://www.ontario.ca//your-guide-employment/minimum-wage

Good article from HuffPost reminding everyone that the CERB is a taxable benefit. It also tells you how you can estimate what you might owe at tax time and gives some strategies to help reduce that amount - the simplest one being to ask your employer to take more taxes off your paycheque once you return to work.

The Ontario Ministry of Education is providing financial support to parents to assist with the costs of educational resources during school and child care closures as a result of Ontario’s declared emergency to stop the spread of COVID-19. This is a separate benefit from the federal Canada Child Benefit (CCB) top-up that will automatically be added for eligible families on your May CCB payment. To receive the Ontario Support for Families benefit, you must apply for it via the... link below (complete a separate application for each child in your family). If you are a parent who is already receiving Support for Parents payments through direct deposit, you will be automatically eligible for this financial support and do not need to submit a new application. (Support for Parents was financial support that was available to parents during education strikes.) See the Support for Families page for further details and eligibility. The application form is part way down the page (blue button): https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-support-families

The portal to apply for the CERB should be available next week. See the chart below from the CRA as to when you can apply. If you applied for EI regular or sickness benefits on March 15, 2020 or later, your claim will be automatically processed through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. For more info and eligibility criteria see http://ow.ly/sNA930qvgOw

Here’s what you can do to get ready to apply for the CERB in advance of the application portal being opened.

GST/HST remittance has been deferred by the CRA until June 30. Keep in mind that your regular payments during that time will still be accruing (interest and penalty free) and will still need to be paid as well by June 30.

This morning (March 25), the Canadian Government made an important announcement simplifying access to emergency benefits due to COVID-19 by introducing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). The CERB would be a combination of the previously announced Emergency Care Benefit and Emergency Support Benefit. It will provide coverage for those who are self-employed who may not have otherwise qualified for the previously proposed forms of emergency relief. The portal for acce...ssing the CERB will be available in early April. Taxable benefit that would provide $2,000 a month for up to four months for workers who lose their income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic Would cover Canadians who have lost their job, are sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone who is sick with COVID-19, as well as working parents who must stay home without pay to care for children who are sick or at home because of school and daycare closures Would apply to wage earners, as well as contract workers and self-employed individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) Workers who are still employed, but are not receiving income because of disruptions to their work situation due to COVID-19, would also qualify for the CERB Canadians who have already applied for EI and whose application has not yet been processed would not need to reapply For additional details, please read the news release on the Government of Canada website: https://www.canada.ca//introduces-canada-emergency-respons

In the last few days, the government has made several announcements regarding financial support for individuals and businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a link directly to the Government of Canada website outlining their response plan. There is a lot of information here but it's important to note that many of the initiatives that have been announced are still in the process of being implemented, meaning they are coming but not active just yet. Scroll to the very bo...ttom to see a summary table of the different initiatives and their planned implementation dates. https://www.canada.ca//canadas-covid-19-economic-response- ROE's must be issued for employees that are not working, whether that be because of health/medical reasons or lack of work/business closure. The reason code on the ROE should reflect as such. The waiting period has been waived for accessing EI sickness benefits, but it remains unclear whether or not the waiting period will also be waived for those off work due to business closure or reduced business hours. There are details that need to be clarified yet on a number of the initiatives as they are implemented - how to access them and who will qualify. As we learn more, we will share more information.

We have received official communication directly from the CRA regarding extensions for the 2019 tax year for filing and paying any amount owed. Although we are limiting in person meetings where possible, we do have a secure drop box at our home office that we are sanitizing regularly, so we are able to continue processing your tax returns as needed. Below is the communication received from the CRA on March 18, 2020: "In order to provide greater flexibility to Canadians who ma...y be experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canada Revenue Agency will defer the filing due date for the 2019 tax returns of individuals, including certain trusts. For individuals (other than trusts), the return filing due date will be deferred until June 1, 2020. However, the Agency encourages individuals who expect to receive benefits under the GSTC or the Canada Child Benefit not to delay the filing of their return to ensure their entitlements for the 2020-21 benefit year are properly determined. For trusts having a taxation year ending on December 31, 2019, the return filing due date will be deferred until May 1, 2020. The Canada Revenue Agency will allow all taxpayers to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020. This relief would apply to tax balances due, as well as installments, under Part I of the Income Tax Act. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period."

Helpful article from Intuit QuickBooks - "Tax Savings Small Businesses Can’t Afford to Miss." Check it out; if you have any questions about how to maximize your tax savings, we'd be happy to chat about it. https://quickbooks.intuit.com//taxes/small-business-tax-s/

It's our favorite season...not parallelogram season...but tax season! Taxes not your thing? Feel like you know more about parallelograms than taxes? No worries, that's where we come in!

Have you heard about this? Definitely worth checking out to see if you have any unclaimed cheques. Someone found $12,000 in unclaimed benefits! This article shows where to look under My Account on the CRA website. Celebrate in the comments if you found something owed to you!

Interesting stats shared by the Clarington Board of Trade & Office of Economic Development. If you are part of the 72% that are sole proprietors, you are definitely wearing a lot of different hats! Want to have someone else take care of your bookkeeping or help with marketing? That’s where we come in! Definitely agree with CBOT’s hashtag - #smallbusinessrocks

We are excited to share that Beacon Heights Bookkeeping is now Beacon Heights Business Solutions! We have expanded to include marketing, design and administrative services to complement our bookkeeping and tax preparation offering. Check out our new website at www.bhbs.ca!

The Money Vault is ready and waiting for you to come win a prize!

Come and visit us at the Newcastle Home & Lifestyle Show today! We are giving away a gift certificate for Krumbs Breadery&Stuff plus lots of other fun prizes. Step into our money vault for your chance to win!

Some Monday morning motivation for you! First keynote at #QBConnect about to start. #mondaymotivation #keynote #learning #growth #skills #bookkeepingforsmallbusinesses #claringtonbookkeeper

We’re baaaa-aaack! Excited to be at Intuit Connect again this year for the third year. It’s going to be a great few days of learning! #qbconnect #intuit #continuouslearning #growth #skills