COVID19 – Resources and Funding for Businesses

The Government of Canada has announced measures to help businesses through these unprecedented and challenging times.  Along with low and no interest credit products, the Government is subsidizing wages for qualifying businesses.  Below are important details on how to access these resources.

The Government of Canada will subsidize up to 75% of wages for qualifying businesses through the “Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy”.

• Number of employees does not determine whether a company qualifies for the 75% wage subsidy.
• Companies will only have to show a 15% loss of revenue for the month of March 2020 but will have to demonstrate a 30% revenue loss for April and May
• Companies will have the option of providing revenues from March, April and May of 2019 OR may use revenues from January and February 2020. Revenue can be measured on accrual (as earned) or cash accounting (as received)
• Companies will have to re-apply each month.
• Companies will have to show the pre-crisis income to the employee and demonstrate the employee has been paid up to $847.00.  The employer will have the money reimbursed to them from the federal government.
• The online portal to apply for the 75% wage subsidy is available here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-how-apply.html
• Businesses are encouraged to get on a direct deposit system, if not already, with CRA. This will allow them to access funds more quickly once the system is up and running. 

Many low interest and zero interest loans have been made available.  The low interest and zero interest loans are available now through financial institutions.

The federal government is offering loans of $40,000 at zero interest to qualifying businesses with up to $10,000 of the loan “forgiven”.  Many financial institutions have already introduced online applications for the federally guaranteed interest free loans of up to $40,000.  The interest free period remains in effect until December 31, 2022 after which, loans will convert to a 3-year term loan with 5% interest. The government will “forgive” up to $10,000 of the loan if it is paid off by Dec. 31, 2022. These loans are available through current financial institutions and are available to businesses and non-profits with annual payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million in 2019.

If you need to take advantage of the zero-interest loans for your business, contact your financial institution immediately to apply.

Additionally, businesses can defer tax remittance to assist with cash flow.  More information can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update/covid-19-filing-payment-dates.html