SR&ED – for accountants and business management consultants

SR&ED is a government program that refunds companies their expenditures on research and development. (Some information on SR&ED)

How can you benefit from SR&ED if you are not involved in R&D?

If you are an accountant, a business management consultant, or do something else that brings you in touch with many businesses

PWC SR&ED Breakfast Seminar – Thursday, Jan 29

There were some recent changes in SR&ED procedure. If you are interested in SR&ED or involved in SR&ED claims in any way, you should attend.
Seminar description and link for registration

SR&ED is a federal tax incentive program that refunds Canadian businesses their research and development (R&D) expenditures. Learn more about SR&ED

New immigration rules rant

The new immigration occupation list is the stupidest thing I ever heard of. The immigration authorities manage to make the whole thing more and more idiotic every time they change the rules (apparently, human idiocy has no limits).

Now, if you don’t have Canadian experience (haven’t worked or studied in Canada), you only stand a chance to immigrate if you belong to the new occupations list.
Let’s look at each position. Whom does our government want to bring into the country?

Financial Managers – I am not even going to comment THAT.

Financial Auditors and Accountants Yes, with vast experience of working under other countries’ rules, regulations and accounting standards. These people don’t stand a chance of being employed in Canada unless they are willing to start from the ground up again (i.e. from being accounting clerks) and obtain all certification, which may take years.

General Practitioners and Family Physicians (and various other medical personnel) Am I walking the same ground that the government people do? Have they ever heard that it is impossible for a doctor with foreign diploma to work in Canada in the professional quality? Yes, I know that there is a government program for re-certifying foreign doctors, a really huge and ambitious project with throughput of about 40 people a year. (Guess how many doctors will come annually under the new rules.) So, these people will have to join the army of pizza deliverers unless the Government changes the licensing rules which I doubt.

All flavours of managers Again the practicality of the government people is astonishing. How big is a chance that someone who just came into the country will be hired in a managerial role? I’ll tell you. Nil. (Unless we talk about a pop-and-mom shop or, maybe, a very small software development company.)

Various kinds of engineers Last time I heard, you could not work as an engineer without Canadian certification and experience. So these people, too, will be forced to take a survival job and undergo long and expensive process of certification.

Chefs and cooks Have you personally suffered from the shortage of chefs and cooks in Canada? Now, doctors and nurses may be a different story, but no one is going to do anything about it (see above).

This is a real circus. I cannot believe my tax money is wasted on the bunch of harebrained [censored] who came up with this ridiculous list. Now take me, I came to Canada as an independent immigrant, I have been gainfully employed most of the time since then (until I switched to self-employment), I have paid taxes (a lot of them), and all in all, because of my presence in the country, the Canadian economy won and I won and everybody won. Under the new rules, I and a million of other people wouldn’t have stood a chance. Now, instead of that, we are going to get more deceived and frustrated doctors and managers who will have to work as pizza deliverers or go on welfare. Who is going to win? Not they, not I, not you.

Government incentives for businesses – resource list

For a refreshed and updated list please visit my business website:
A fresher list of government incentives

The resources are mostly for technology and/or design-related Canadian small businesses (some are applicable to other types of businesses as well).

SR&ED – government refund for companies doing research and development
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/txcrdt/sred-rsde/menu-eng.html

(Check here for more details on SR&ED or contact me at tania@sred4you.com for further information. I can help your company obtain SR&ED refunds.)

OITC (Ontario Innovation Tax Credit) – rider to federal SR&ED http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/forms/ct/pdf/0329f.pdf

A comprehensive searchable database of over 250 government programs and services that can help you implement your technology http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/com-inv.nsf/eng/Home

Export Market Access (EMA) is a cost-sharing grant designed to help small to medium sized organizations take advantage of opportunities in foreign markets beyond the US. You can also get a grant for holding an event if it is export-related.

Federal Grants, Subsidies and Contributions Info-Guide with a special focus on entrepreneurs and start-ups http://www.canadabusiness.ca/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_ON/display&c=GuideInfoGuide&cid=1184729523117&lang=en

http://www.trra.ca/en/reports/BusinessPrograms.asp – list of federal and provincial business programs

MINISTRY OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (Ontario) http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/english/programs/mri.asp

Ontario Business Program Guide http://www.ontario.ca/businessprograms

http://www.2ontario.com/software/government_programs.asp – list of programs with summary information, so you don’t have to check each link separately

City of Toronto incentive programs (plus a limited summary of others)
http://www.toronto.ca/invest-in-toronto/incentives.htm

Ontario New Technology Tax incentive (ONTTI) http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/credit/ONTTI/

Ontario Business Research Institute Tax Credit (OBRITC) http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/notices/ct/6024.html

Apprenticeship training tax credit
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/credit/attc/index.html

Other Ontario tax incentives
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/credit/index.html

Canadian tax incentives for creative industries

For a refreshed and updated list please visit my business website:
A fresher list of government incentives