MPP Piccini challenges municipalities to target property tax relief for local small businesses
The Government of Ontario is giving municipalities the flexibility to provide property tax relief to small businesses. The province is also considering matching these reductions, which would provide small businesses with municipal and provincial property relief totaling $385 million. This initiative is part of the 2020 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover.
The move comes as part of to a suite of supports for small businesses announced in Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover.
“We are taking urgent action to help small business owners by eliminating unfair taxes on jobs and lowering the Business Education Tax,” said MPP David Piccini. “Partnering with municipalities to bring tax relief to our small businesses will strengthen our recovery and help our job creators weather this storm. I encourage our municipalities to provide property tax relief to small businesses in Northumberland-Peterborough South. Addressing property tax rates is one of the most important things we can do to immediately support employers now and in the future.”
Property taxes are one of the most unavoidable costs businesses face. In Ontario, there is a wide range of Business Education Tax rates across the province – despite promises made by governments over the last 25 years to fix this inequity. This creates an unfair challenge for businesses operating in communities where rates are higher.
The 2020 Budget also proposes to reduce property taxes on job creators and level the playing field by lowering high Business Education Tax (BET) rates for over 200,000 employers, or 94 per cent of all business properties in Ontario, starting January 1. This will create $450 million in immediate annual savings and represents a reduction of 30 per cent for many businesses currently subject to the highest BET rate in the province.
Rates will be reduced to 0.88 per cent. For many employers, this represents a reduction of 30 per cent.
· In Northumberland County, it means industrial properties will save $471,000 and commercial properties will save $2,324,000.
· In Peterborough County, it means industrial properties will save $192,000. Commercial properties will see a 10 per cent reduction and will save $344,000.
“These are significant savings, especially when you consider it is money competitors in other parts of Ontario are not paying,” said MPP David Piccini. “Consider the impact of these measures together for a business in your community. Any business owner will tell you that these property tax savings could be the difference between being able to grow their business or closing up shop.”
The government is also proposing to end a tax on jobs for an additional 30,000 employers. Back in March, the government more than doubled the Employer Health Tax exemption to $1 million. Employers across Ontario have indicated that this measure helped them keep workers on the job during COVID-19.
The Ontario government is also helping main street businesses stay open and stay safe by offering a grant of up to $1,000 for the costs of personal protective equipment (PPE), with applications for the $60-million Main Street Relief Grant becoming available online on November 16, 2020. Small businesses with two to nine employees in the retail, accommodations and food services, repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services sectors can apply for this one-time grant. Eligible businesses, whether
applying for the Main Street Relief Grant for PPE – or for property tax or energy rebates in affected regions – will be able to do it all through one application on a new online portal. For more information, please visit ontario.ca/smallbusiness.
QUICK FACTS
· Ontario’s Action Plan sets out a total of $45 billion in support over three years to make available the necessary health resources to continue protecting people, deliver critical programs and tax measures to support individuals, families and job creators impacted by the virus, and lay the groundwork for a robust long-term economic recovery for the province.
· Ontario has also committed $300 million to provide eligible small businesses in modified Stage 2 public health restrictions, or, going forward, in areas categorized as Control or Lockdown to cover costs associated with property taxes and energy bills.
· The province is also moving forward with introducing legislation to extend the temporary ban on commercial evictions for businesses that are eligible for federal/provincial rent assistance, as part of Bill 229, the Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020. If passed, the legislation would extend the ban on evictions for commercial tenants that would have been eligible for the CECRA for small businesses program.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
