On March 19, the Liberal government announced the details of the 2019 Federal budget. One of the big surprises in the budget was the announcement that the program will be enhanced for CCPC going forward. Buried in the various innovation announcements, the government announced a change to the rules around accessing the 35% enhanced ITC rate for SR&ED. For fiscal years ending after March 31, 2019, the enhanced rate will be accessible to all CCPC regardless of taxable income, but still subject to taxable capital rules. This change is specifically aimed at growing Canadian companies who have exceeded the $800,000 taxable income threshold which previously eliminated access to the enhanced ITC rate. Now companies can continue to scale up their companies without handicapping their ability to generate a profit. This initiative by the government is welcome, as it puts Canadian companies in a stronger position to compete globally and incentivize […]
MCN
We thought we would try something different this year. A lot of really good articles have been written about the 2017 Canadian Federal Budget. Rather than highlighting key points like in previous years, we’ve decided to refer you to those articles that provide a good explanation of key points of the budget. Betakit has done an excellent job itemizing the key funding points in the 2017 budget. http://betakit.com/budget2017-calls-for-950-million-towards-superclusters-national-ai-strategy/ The budget has announced increased funding for accelerators and incubators, somewhat controversially. Here is a great counterpoint on the need for funding more business incubators. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/startups/tech-leaders-question-the-need-for-more-funding-for-business-incubators/article33631229/ Much has been made about the new support for AI and related technologies in the budget. This money will primarily be handled by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). Little known outside of academic circles, heres some more information about how CIFAR will use government money to advance AI, as seen through their pre-budget consultation. http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/421/FINA/Brief/BR8398149/br-external/CanadianInstituteForAdvancedResearch-e.pdf Speaking […]
Subcontractors who are Canadian (i.e. companies operating in Canada), or individuals in Canada hired on a subcontract basis and are performing SR&ED eligible work, can be claimed under the program. The difference between subcontractors and employees is simply the refund rate. Through the program, a higher return rate is applied to salaried employees versus subcontractors. There is another scenario involving subcontractors that people mistakenly think is a loophole to be exploited. In some cases, a company will hire a Canadian subcontractor (typically a company) to perform some SR&ED eligible development on their behalf. The Canadian subcontractor then outsources this work offshore. Some outsourcing companies present this as a way to win business as they can lower their costs to the client, while still allowing the client to claim SR&ED on their work. In fact, this is not a loophole, and is something that the CRA accounted for long ago. Through a directive, that […]