‘Terrific budget for small business’: CFIB

April 22, 2015, Ottawa – Small business owners across the country will be thrilled to see several small business-friendly measures in the 2015 budget, particularly the 18 per cent reduction in the small business corporate tax rate over the next four years, said the Canadian Federation of Independent Business in a news release.

This builds on earlier announcements of Employment Insurance premium relief, new measures to address credit card fees and balanced budget legislation.

“Reducing the small business corporate tax rate was viewed by CFIB members as the most effective measure the federal government could take to strengthen the performance of small firms. We are especially pleased that government intends to legislate the full small business tax cut plan before the election,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

The following were among CFIB’s recommendations included in the budget:

• Reducing the small business corporate tax from 11 to 9 per cent over the next four years. This comes after years of steady CFIB lobbying and will save small firms $2.7 billion over four years ($1.2 billion per year when fully implemented).
• Returning the budget to balance, and introducing balanced budget legislation to protect taxpayers for the future.
• Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) for manufacturers for the next 10 years.
• Several measures to reduce red tape, including legislating a plan to cut a regulation for every new one (1:1 rule).
• Several big changes at the Canada Revenue Agency, including less frequent remittances for new firms, a commitment to honour all written advice including the CRA website and a new CRA forum with CFIB.
• Confirmation that small firms will save $550 million in lower Employment Insurance rates through the Small Business Job Credit before even larger premium cuts start in 2017.
• Significant reductions in credit card processing fees and new rules to ensure fairness in the payments industry.

CFIB gives the 2015 federal budget an “A”. “This is a terrific budget for small business,” Kelly said.