2020 Ontario Budget
November 5, 2020
Read the 2020 Budget.
Below are highlights, pulled from the government’s release, that are important to our business community.
- Providing $300 million in relief for eligible businesses in regions where the Province determines modified Stage 2 public health restrictions are necessary, or going forward, in areas categorized as Control or Lockdown. This will help cover fixed costs such as property taxes and energy bills.
- Reducing electricity rates, saving medium-size and larger industrial and commercial employers about 14 and 16 per cent respectively, on average, on their electricity bills.
- Lowering the Business Education Tax (BET) rates for over 200,000 employers, or 94 per cent of all business properties in Ontario, to a rate of 0.88 per cent.
- Proposing to make permanent the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption increase from $490,000 to $1 million.
- Lowering the provincial business property tax rates to a rate of 0.88 per cent for over 200,000 properties — or 94 per cent of all business properties in the province.
- Responding to requests from local governments by proposing to provide municipalities with the ability to cut property tax for small businesses and a provincial commitment to consider matching these reductions.
- Investing over $680 million over the next four years in broadband infrastructure
- Providing one-time emergency funding of $25 million for Ontario’s arts institutions to help cover operating losses incurred as a result of COVID-19.
- Committing to provide Ontario residents with support of up to 20 per cent for eligible Ontario tourism expenses to encourage them to safely discover Ontario in 2021.