The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has lauded Toronto for increasing its small business subclass tax savings from 15 percent to 20 percent, which the province will automatically match through business education tax (BET) reductions.
Angela Drennan, CFIB vice president for legislative affairs in Ontario, and Julie Kwiecinski, director of provincial affairs in Ontario – speaking on behalf of the federation’s more than 4,200 small business members in Toronto – stressed that this update was especially welcome amid the challenging and uncertain economic environment.
In the media release, Drennan and Kwiecinski described Toronto’s move as a solid step toward attaining the maximum 35 percent savings permitted under the provincial government’s optional small business property tax subclass.
Drennan and Kwiecinski noted that Toronto and Ottawa are the only two municipalities in the province to have opted for this tool.
According to Drennan and Kwiecinski, participating municipalities should decide the specific eligibility criteria and may impose a subclass tax reduction at a maximum of 35 percent of the municipal rate for the property class.
CFIB’s advocacy work
In the media release, Drennan and Kwiecinski explained that CFIB’s advocacy efforts have helped drive Ontario to automatically match such savings in BET reductions.
According to Drennan and Kwiecinski, participating municipalities previously needed to notify the province’s Ministry of Finance of their plan to adopt the subclass and consult with stakeholders prior to the consideration of the savings matching.
“Year after year, our members have let us know that taxes remain their top cost constraint,” Drennan and Kwiecinski said in CFIB’s media release. “With tax savings like this, our members have told us they would increase employee compensation (51 percent), expand their operations (44 percent), and hire new employees (34 percent).”
Drennan and Kwiecinski shared that CFIB was eager to assist the city with determining the eligibility criteria that would enable more small businesses to benefit from the 20 percent savings, including by adding properties in office buildings and shopping centres.
Recently, CFIB announced that it presented thousands of signed petitions, collected from small business owners across New Brunswick over the past year, to the province’s local government minister.
CFIB said these petitions responded to concerns about the New Brunswick government’s election‑cycle commitment to abolish the fixed multiplier for commercial properties and equip municipalities with additional taxation powers.