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Business Transfers To Family Members

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family-325218_1920Inadequate Succession Planning

 

According to reports published by CIBC it is expected that 30% or close to 310,000 Canadian business owners will sell or transfer ownership of their businesses in the next five years. The growing number of transfers has a significant impact on the Canadian economy and predecessor owners.

The lack of effective tax planning and knowledge  has resulted in predecessor owners paying significant income tax. This directly affects retirement savings and future well-being.

Transferring Among Family members

Business owners might have family succession allowing them to transfer their family business to the next generation. This allows business to be kept in the family and continue to operate much like they did in the years before. However, section 84.1 of the Income Tax Act (ITA) creates a significant economic loss for the business owner if they decide to keep the business within the family.

The transfer of a business to a family member is administered through section 84 .1 of the ITA, which is in place to prevent tax evasion. In most cases this section of the ITA deprives the predecessor owner of the capital gains exemption, which can save thousands in taxes. This would make selling the business to a third party much more attractive because you can realize the capital gains exemption. Resulting in lower income tax for the business owner.

Section 84.1 has overly complicated the succession planning process. It hinders the business owners if they decide to keep the business in the family.

Recommendation

Like many other, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has proposed that the federal government modify the ITA section 84.1 to “to facilitate  business transfers to family members and make this type of transfer at least as advantageous as transfers involving  unrelated third parties through the following measures”.

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GST/HST Rates Across Canada

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Canadian Provincial Tax Map 2015

GST HST Rates Across Canada

 GST/HST Rates Across Canada

With eCommerce more and more businesses are selling goods and services across Canada. This has resulted in confusion on which sales tax rates apply. Majority of Canadian businesses must collect sales taxes from customers and remit them to the government. Depending on the province your business operates in, the rates are different.

Based on the province or territory in which your business operates in, you need to collect either:

  • A combination of GST and PST
  • GST only
  • HST

 What sales tax should I charge my customer in another province?

Generally speaking the sale tax you charge your customer depends on where the supply of the goods or services is made. If a business in Alberta sends products to a business in Ontario, the place of supply is Ontario and you will be charging your customer the HST at the rate for Ontario.

GST/HST sales tax rates that apply in Canada by province:

Province Type PST GST HST Total Tax Rate
(%) (%) (%) (%)
Alberta GST 5 5
British Columbia GST+PST 7 5 12
Manitoba GST+PST 8 5 13
New Brunswick HST 13 13
Newfoundland and Labrador HST 13 13
Northwest Territories GST 5 5
Nova Scotia HST 15 15
Nunavut GST 5 5
Ontario HST 13 13
Prince Edward Island HST 14 14
Quebec GST+QST *9.975 5 14.975
Saskatchewan GST+PST 5 5 10
Yukon GST 5 5

 

 

What sales tax should I charge my customer in another Country?

If you sell good outside of Canada this is considered a zero-rated supply and you do not charge your customers GST or HST. However, if the goods are picked up from Canada then the supply is made in Canada and you are required to charge GST/HST depending on your respective province.

How to calculate GST/HST?

Example 1: In Alberta, where only GST applies and you sold a $100 item.

Retail price: $100
GST (5%): $5
Total: $105

Example 2: In Ontario, where HST applies and you sold a $100 item.

Retail price: $100
HST (13%): $13
Total: $113

Example 3: In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, PST, like GST, is calculated on the retail price only. The two taxes are then added to the retail price for your total. For example, in Manitoba:

Retail price: $100
GST (5%): $5
PST (7%): $7
Total: $112

 Visit the CRA website for more information 

CRA Auditing – HST New Housing Rebates

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Goods and Services Tax/Harmonixed Sales Tax (GST/HST) New Housing Rebate

Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) New Housing Rebate

The Canadian Market

The housing market in Toronto and the suburbs has been booming over the last several years. This has allowed investors from all over the world to cash in. The strategy was to purchase a newly constructed home or condominium unit from the builder and sell it a few months later for profit. This strategy seemed like people had finally figured out how to pull ahead in this struggling economy. For some this had even become a full time job with endless rewards. With the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) only taxing half of the capital gain this was the right way to retain your money.

HST New Housing Rebate

With the CRA looking to increase tax revenues they started reviewing the New Housing Rebate applications  and determined a large number of people had claimed the GST/HST New Housing Rebate incorrectly. They were able to determine a large number of investors never even moved into the newly constructed property but they had sold it few months after they took possession. In this case they would not qualify for the rebate and they would be required to pay the HST balance to the CRA. A lot of investors had already sold the property and had failed to collect HST on the sale, which would mean they were still required to pay back the HST. This was a sticky situation with some investors on the hook for over $24,000. In some instances the CRA waited 3 years to reassess the taxpayer. Read more