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 […]
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Entrepreneur A: “Our mobile application is the first of it’s kind, and saves people millions of dollars” CRA: “That’s nice, but sorry, your work isn’t eligible” — Entrpreneur B: “Our system was difficult to build, there was no documentation, and it was a black box” CRA: “Sorry not eligible” — Entrepreneur C: “Our system works faster than our competitors in the field, and it did it in a totally new way” CRA: “Sounds like there might be something, but sorry, not eligible” One of the biggest misconceptions about the SR&ED program is that it is about the products you are developing. While you may be solving problems and use technology to achieve things that were previously not possible, this is actually not what the program is intended to fund. This is easily the biggest problem that entrepreneurs face when describing their work for the purposes of a SR&ED claim. The SR&ED […]
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 […]