Graham Scott Enns LLP
450 Sunset Drive N5R 5V1 Saint Thomas, ON, Canada

As of April 8, 2021 there has been no extension to the personal income tax filing deadline of April 30, 2021 (or June 15, 2021 for self-employed individuals). We at GSE are here to assist you in the completion of your tax returns and offer a variety of contactless options in order to facilitate the safe preparation of your returns. If you would like to learn more about these options, please contact a member of our team to determine an option that works best for your personal circumstances.

Personal Tax Season has arrived yet again and we're excited to invite you to read all about it in our latest Blog post! http://www.grahamscottenns.com//personal-income-tax-seaso/

In response to the difficulties faced by the hardest hit businesses due to COVID-19, BDC in conjunction with the Government of Canada, has developed the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee. This program will provide low-interest loans ranging from $25,000 to $1,000,000 to cover operational cash flow needs. To qualify, businesses must: - Be Canadian based. - Have been financially stable and viable pre-COVID.... - Have received payments either from the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) or the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) by demonstrating a minimum 50% revenue decline for at least 3 months within the last 8-month period prior to the HASCAP application. - The loan will be used to continue or resume operations. - The loan cannot be used to pay or refinance existing debts. - Minimum risk ratings will apply, varying by size of new loan. - You can apply for a loan under the HASCAP Guarantee for each legal entity you own, up to a maximum combined amount of $6.25 million (all legal entities combined). - Other conditions may also apply. Please see the BDC website for more details, including all eligibility requirements: https://www.bdc.ca/en/special-support/hascap HASCAP will be available until June 30, 2021. If you think this program would be the right opportunity for your business, you are encouraged to apply.

Less than two weeks left to contribute to your RRSP for the 2020 tax year! Talk to your accountant to see if you should be making contributions.

As part of our series of exciting announcements, Graham Scott Enns LLP would like to announce the promotion of Derek Biggar, CPA, CA to the role of Manager effective January 1, 2021! Derek has been with GSE since he was a co-op student in 2014 and has shown tremendous growth over the past 7 years since his start with GSE. The Partners and staff are excited to acknowledge how far Derek has come and welcome him to the Aylmer Management Team! Derek’s knowledgeable and reliable... nature is greatly appreciated by our clients. He provides professional service to a variety of our clients across various industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, not-for-profit, smaller owner-managed businesses, and personal taxation. Within our Firm, Derek is a valued contributor to our Training & Development and Assurance committees, and is a supportive mentor to junior staff members. Derek is a great addition to our Aylmer management team. Well done Derek! Megan Siemens, CPA, CA Partner We wish to congratulate Derek on this exciting new stage of his career, and we encourage everyone to take this opportunity to celebrate Derek’s accomplishments! Congratulations Derek!

Celebrating the success of a hard-working colleague, and watching their progress as they learn and grow, is one of the most rewarding journeys business teams take together. Today at Graham Scott Enns LLP, the Partners and staff are ecstatic to acknowledge how far Blake Gough has come in his own journey by announcing his immediate promotion to the role of Manager! Through years of exemplary customer-service, dedication to hard-work, and with his passion of making the firm a ...better place to be, Blake has shown that he is an integral member of the GSE family and community, and one of our brightest up-and-coming stars. He has well-earned this new role! Blake Gough provides attentive professional service to many of our clients. He works seamlessly across a diverse range of industries including not-for-profit, municipalities, owner-managed smaller business, professional corporations, and personal tax clients. Within our Firm, Blake is actively involved in organizing staff social events and training junior staff members. Blake is a most welcome addition to our manager team. Congratulations Blake! Jennifer Buchanan Partner We wish to congratulate Blake at the start of this exciting new stage of his career, and we encourage everyone to take this opportunity to celebrate Blake’s accomplishments!

Updates to the CEWS Per our previous posting on April 15, the CEWS as put in place for an initial 12-week period ending June, 6, 2020. This was extended for an additional 12-weeks, ending August 29, 2020. Draft legislation has been released to extend the program until at least November 21, 2020. This extension includes some rule changes that are important to take note of. Effective July 5, 2020 (period 5 and subsequent periods), the CEWS will now be made up of two parts:... Base: available to all eligible employers that are experiencing a decline in revenues, with the subsidy amount varying depending on the scale of revenue decline (see picture #2). The base will be the specified rate applied to the remuneration paid to the employee for the period, on remuneration up to $1,129. The base rate will vary depending on the level of revenue decline, and is extended to employers who have had a drop of less than 30% so all employers with a revenue decline will qualify. This decrease will either be based on the revenue decline for either the current or previous month (whichever is greater) compared to the same month in 2019 (or the average of January and February 2020 revenue if that method is chosen) Top-up: up to an additional 25 per cent for those employers that have been most adversely affected by COVID-19 (Picture #3). The top-up will be available to employers who have had a three-month average revenue decline of 50% or more compared to the same three months in 2019 (or the average of January and February 2020 if that method is chosen) Please see the CRA website (https://www.canada.ca//adapting-the-canada-emergency-wage-) for more information regarding the changes to the CEWS as well as other COVID-19 related information and programs. If you have any questions about this or any of the other COVID-19 related programs, including how to apply, please reach out to a member of the GSE team and they would be glad to assist you.

Thank you to the Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation for hosting this and other great community events! We at GSE are proud to support our local community #stthomasproud

Graham Scott Enns wants to let everyone know that both our offices will be closed from Wednesday July 1st through Sunday July 5th to celebrate Canada’s Birthday. We would like to wish our clients, our staff, and all our families and friends a safe, happy and healthy holiday. From all of us at GSE to all of you, Happy Canada Day!

Applications are opening soon for small businesses to ensure they have what they need to cover their operational costs under the current circumstances as the province begins to reopen. Small businesses and not-for-profits can apply trough the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) for an interest free loan up to $40,000 to assist with operating costs while in periods of decreased revenue as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To qualify for CEBA the small business or ...not-for-profit must meet the following criteria: Be a tax registered Canadian operating business in operations as of March 1, 2020 Total employment income paid in 2019 is between $20,000 and $1,500,000 The borrower has an active business account with Lender of the loan, who is also their primary financial institution To apply, small businesses and not-for-profits should contact their financial institutions directly, and can take a look at the website below for a list of participating financial institutions in the CEBA program. The CEBA funds can be used on: Any operating expenses that cannot be deferred, this includes but it not limited to, payroll, rent, utilities, debt payments and property taxes. However, they cannot use the debt for refinancing of current debt, payment of dividends or for increase in management compensation Please see the CEBA Website for more information: https://ceba-cuec.ca/

Applications are open for commercial property owners to apply for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. All eligible commercial property owners are encouraged to apply to help ease the burden of their tenants while meeting their operating expenses. To qualify for CECRA the commercial property owner must meet the following criteria: Own a commercial property that has one or more tenants that are impacted by COVID-19 Enter into a ren...t reduction agreement for the period of April, May, and June 2020, reducing the impacted tenant’s rent by at least 75% Ensure that the agreement includes and moratorium on eviction for the period, and a declaration of rental renewal Impacted small business tenants are businesses including non-profit organizations and charities that: Do not pay more than $50,000 in monthly rent per location Do not generate more than $20 million in gross annual revenues Has seen at least a 70% decline in pre-COVID-10 revenues In order to apply, commercial property owners must provide the following documents: Rent Reduction Agreement for each impacted tenant Rent Roll for impacted tenants Property tax statement for commercial property Tenant information including number of full and part time employees A copy of the recent bank account statement where the rent is deposited Tenant’s business number Please see the CMHC Website for more information and to apply: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca///covid19-cecra-small-business ***Updated form Post on April 29, 2020***