Blog Post

Government Wage Subsidy

  • By Zhang & Associates
  • •
  • 28 Jul, 2021
  • •

Canada Recovery Hiring Program & Healthy Hire Manitoba Program

In order to support the small business to recover from declining revenue, the government of Canada announced Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP), to provide eligible employers offset a portion of incremental remuneration paid during June 6 – November 20, 2021.
In addition to this, the Government of Manitoba also announced Healthy Hire Manitoba Program to encourage employers hire or rehire the vaccinated employees and recover from the pandemic.
Under the Healthy Hire Manitoba Program, eligible Manitoba-based businesses can apply for up to $5,000 per employee to a maximum of 10 employees who can attest they have been vaccinated, intend to be vaccinated or are unable to be vaccinated.

The followings are the requirements about the eligible employers:

  • Employers must be an active and permanent Manitoba-based business or organization physically operating in the Province of Manitoba as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, co-operative, non-share corporation, not-for-profit organization or registered charity.
  • Employers must possess an active and valid Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) issued Business Number/Charity Registration Number.
  • Employers must be in good standing with the Manitoba Companies Office at the time their application is assessed (not required for sole proprietors, registered charities)
  • Employers must have a valid bank account with a Canadian financial institution. When applying to the program, employers must submit a void cheque/direct deposit form from their financial institution. The bank account holder name must be associated with the Business Number you submit.
  • Employers must have an active email address and maintain communication with the program.
  • Employers must declare they have supported public health protocols in the workplace, including providing new hires with public health vaccine information.
The followings are the requirements about the eligible employees:
  • Employees must be a current Manitoba resident eligible to work in Manitoba.
  • Employees must be directly employed by the applicant employer in ‘insurable employment’ for the purposes of establishing entitlement to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.
  • Employees must be a new hire, having started working for the employer no earlier than June 10, 2021. The employee is allowed to be a re-hire from a previous year or if the employee was laid off as a result of the restrictions.
  • Temporary foreign workers legally entitled to work in Canada are eligible under the program. Employers are required to retain copies of work permits for these workers and provide to government officials when requested.
Only regular wages, overtime wages and statutory holiday wages are eligible remuneration to calculate the Healthy Hire Manitoba Program.

The eligible employers can apply during July 13, 2021 to September 30, 2021. For more information and the application link about the Healthy Hire Manitoba Program, please see the following link: https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/programs/healthy-hire-mb.html#eligibleemployers
Who can apply 
  • Business must meet all the eligibility requirements of the CEWS
  • If business is a for-profit corporation or partnership, the following additional requirements must be met:
    • Business should be a Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs)
    • Cooperative corporations that are eligible for the small business deduction
    • Partnerships where at least 50% of the partnership’s interests are held (directly or indirectly) by employers eligible for the CRHP
Claiming periods
CRHP will begin on June 6, 2021 and will be lasted until November 20, 2021. Meanwhile, the CEWS (Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) will finish on September 25, 2021. Therefore, during June 6 to September 25, 2021, eligible employers can either apply CEWS or CRHP, depending on which subsidy gives a higher amount.
What can be subsidized
One of the major differences between Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is that the CRHP is calculated using the incremental remuneration for each period compared to March 14 to April 10, 2021. In addition, the amounts for employees who were on leave with pay are not included in the CRHP calculation. The following chart illustrated the difference of eligible remuneration between CRHP and CEWS.
How much you can get
The subsidy rate for CRHP is fixed for each claim period, which is different from CERS. However, the subsidy rate will decrease gradually after period 20.
In addition, we should notice that the top up subsidy will not be applied to CRHP program. Therefore, no matter the sales drop percentage is 10% or 100%, the subsidy rate will be exactly same. Businesses with sales drop percentage less than 10% will not be able to apply for the CRHP from period 18.
How to apply 
Eligible business can submit their CRHP application through one of the three ways:
  • In My Business Account, find the CRHP application under "Payroll" on the main menu.
  • Business representatives may apply using Represent a Client
  • Using the Web Forms application by entering your web access code (WAC)
Once the application has been approved, CRA will issue cheques or direct deposit to the applicant’s bank account. The deadline for each claim period is 180 days after the end of that claim period.
Common questions 

1. What will be included in eligible remuneration for the CRHP?
 Included:
  • Salary
  • Wages
  • Certain taxable benefits
  • Fees and commissions
Not included:
  • Severance pay
  • Stock option benefits
  • Dividends
  • Tips customers gave directly to the employee
  • Non-cash taxable benefits
2. How much is the maximum subsidy amount for each employee each period?
 For an arm’s length employee, for each week of the claim period, the maximum eligible remuneration is the lease of the following:
  • The amount of eligible remuneration paid to each employee in respect of that week
  • $1,129
  • If the employee is on leave with pay that week, $0
If the employee is non-arm’s length, the pre-crisis remuneration of the employee should be used to determine the maximum eligible    remuneration.
 The pre-crises pay is also referred to baseline remuneration. The following are baseline remuneration for each period of CRHP:
  Period 17: January 1 to March 15, 2020, March 1 to June 30, 2019, or July 1 to December 31, 2019
  Period 18-22: January 1 to March 15, 2020, or July 1 to December 31, 2019

3. Can I choose different program (CEWS or CRHP) in each period?
 Yes. As per CRA, eligible employers can apply for a different subsidy in each claim period. However, it is not allowed to apply both subsidies in one claim period.

4. What revenue comparison method should be used for CRHP?
 CRHP is treated as a continuous of CEWS. Therefore, eligible employers should use the same method (general year-over-year approach or alternative approach) to calculate revenue drop percentage under CRHP as it used in CEWS.

5. How to amend or cancel an application?
 Once the CRHP approved, it is only eligible to replace the CRHP application with CEWS for the same period. If you have claimed a higher amount of the CRHP than you are entitled to, any excess amount of the CRHP payment may be subject to interest. Severe penalties will apply to any non-compliance behavior.
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We are here to help!
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Stay well and healthy,
Zhang & Associates CPA Inc.
(204) – 944 – 8000

Income Taxes in Canada – Are you in the know?

By roger@m9corp.com • 21 Nov, 2018

Here are some tax tips you should be aware of:  

Avoid taxes, don’t evade them .

To avoid taxes is to use provisions of the tax laws to your advantage. Evasion is a criminal offence with heavy penalties not limited to and including a prison sentence.

Be informed, know the numbers game .

Taxes are paid on a scaled rate system. The first $12,000. you earn is tax free. Personal returns are taxed on every dollar after the exception. Corporations are taxed at different rates and has more extensive issues within the corporation such as dividends. Dividends and capital gains are taxed at a different rate on personal returns. Taxes involve a federal rate and a provincial rate which could cost the tax payer between 25 to 50%.

  Tax Credit or Deduction – Do you know the difference?  

Deductions are claimed to reduce taxable income. Some deductions are RRSP’s, child care expenses, moving expenses, employment expenses and union/professional dues. A Tax credit is a payment towards you taxes payable. Examples are, pension income amount, Canada employment amount, home buyers amount, pension Income amount, disability and caregiver amounts, medical expenses, tuition/education, CPP/EI, and public transit.

Timing your Taxes – Cashing out RRSP’s or RRIF’s  

There is a tax implication when cashing these out. Make sure these happen in your best taxable interest. These items are also taxed at 10%, so be aware that this transaction may cost you more in taxes on your tax return when added to your income in the year cashed.  

Pay Taxes on time but not ahead of time  

If you receive a refund each year, Revenue Canada is working with your money. It is best to pay minimal taxes and keep your refund for your use. To reduce your taxes at source, you can file a T1213 to make this request. Anyone owing more than $3000. in taxes each year is going to pay installments. Always review this request each year to make sure your situation has not changed.

Life Happens and there are things that may affect your taxes  

Some significant events could be—getting a divorce or separation, negotiating salary or other compensation or moving to another province or country, etc.

Talk to your accountant as they offer broad advice to families, employees, self-employed, corporate decisions, investors, retirement, and on international/provincial/estate taxes. Luis Rubin is at the ready to assist you with all your tax needs.

Please call him at 204-944-8000 Ext 230

Quickbooks Mobile for Business

By roger@m9corp.com • 21 Nov, 2018

The following are the features of the program:  

Create and send invoices  - automates the invoice processing to ensure accuracy and saves time.

                You can do estimates that can automatically be changed to an invoice and automatically

                sent to the customer. Regular customer invoices can be scheduled to be automatically

                generated and sent as well.


Get Paid Faster  - collect and record customer payments-accept credit or debit card payments. You can

                also set up credit cards to automatically pay for the invoice so that you don’t have to remind

                them to pay.

 

Stick to a Budget - collecting, recording and tracking every dollar coming into and going out of your

                business is a crucial part of keeping your business healthy. Creating budgets helps you keep

                track of your business and is a great tool to help you with the decision making process. It also

                helps you if you require a loan or are looking for investors. They often ask to see your budgets.

 

Go mobile  – Enjoy the freedom of running your business anywhere and on any device. Quickbooks

                automatically backs up data to the cloud and syncs across your devices so that you can

                efficiently manage your business on the go. Wherever you are, you can access the data.

 

Automatic Backups  - processed automatically every time you make a change. It is very safe.

Connect your Apps  - connecting your business apps helps you expand your experience. Quickbooks Online interface is extremely easy and self-explanatory. Some apps are available to help you add the expenses immediately into Quickbooks (such as HUBDDOCS).

 

Expert Pro-advisors  - local tested and certified experts to help you get started and figure out new   features.


There are many other features of the program such as producing reports, running Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable summary reports, bank and credit card reconciliations and financial reports for the accountant. Quickbooks Online also offers monthly automatic billing to help with the budget.

Luis Rubin is ready to assist you with any or all of your accounting needs. Please contact him if you have any questions concerning the program. His email and phone number are in the contact information on the home screen.

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