On July 17, the federal Finance Minister outlined the details of the expanded Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program to December 19, 2020.
Here is a summary of the changes:
Changes to all previous CEWS periods
- There have been changes made to corporate amalgamations, adjustments to qualifying revenue for assets sales, and periods to use to calculate baseline remuneration.
- Trusts are now considered an eligible entity for CEWS qualification, if they have a CRA payroll account.
New qualifying periods
- Period 4 (June 7 to July 4, 2020)
- Period 5 (July 5 to August 1, 2020)
- Period 6 (August 2 to August 29, 2020)
- Period 7 (August 30 to September 26, 2020)
- Period 8 (September 27 to October 24, 2020)
- Period 9 (October 25 to November 21, 2020)
- TBD if there will be a Period 10. The Minister of Finance will announce if there is another claim period by December 31, 2020.
Changes to base subsidy calculations
Effective for period 5 and onwards, the rate of the base CEWS would now vary depending on the level of revenue decline, and its application would be extended to employers with a revenue decline of less than 30 per cent. Our friends at Video Tax News have summarized this change here.
There is also a top-up of CEWS up to 25%, available to employers most adversely impacted by the pandemic. This will be based on the drop in revenue.
We understand that these changes to CEWS have created a new level of complexity to this program. If you have engaged HGA to complete your applications, rest assured we have taken these new rules into account in completing your application.
If you require assistance completing your CEWS applications, please contact your HGA Advisor or info@hgacpa.com.
