2020 Ontario Budget

Today, the Ontario Government released the 2020 Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover.

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.

 

Read the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s response to the 2020 Ontario Budget.

 

Do you have feedback? Please share your thoughts with Faye Lyons, Vice President of Government Relations & Advocacy.