Manitoba Businesses Buoyed By Elimination Of Tax

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

07 December 2010

In Canada, small business owners in the province of Manitoba were presented with an early Christmas gift, when Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced that they will no longer have to pay small business tax.

The province is the first to eliminate the tax, with British Columbia set to emulate the initiative in April 2012. Of the 103,000 businesses in Manitoba, 97% are considered to be small. Specifically, businesses with revenues under CAD400,000 will enjoy the tax reform. Wowchuk commented:

"When we [NDP] entered office, small business was at a significant disadvantage, as it faced a tax of eight per cent — the second highest in the country. Today, we have fulfilled our promise to eliminate the tax."

She added:

"Small businesses invest in our economy, grow our communities, support our families and help keep Manitoba's unemployment rate one of the lowest in the country,"

The Ministry calculates that small businesses will save more than CAD422m (USD421m) annually when the tax measures in Budget 2010 are combined with the tax cuts previously delivered by the government.

Wowchuk also announced that “corporation capital tax continues to be on track for elimination by the end of 2010”. It was already eliminated for manufacturers and processors in 2008, providing savings of CAD25m annually.

Catherine Swift, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, was buoyed by the announcement: "This move is about supporting entrepreneurship. It allows small businesses to keep more of their profits and reinvest in their companies, their employees and their communities.”

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