On Thursday, November 4, 2021, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy published the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario, building the foundation for economic growth through critical infrastructure, supporting workers, and creating the right environment to attract investment and jobs.
The article summarizes the four tax related measures announced today.
The Ford government is proposing a new temporary Ontario Staycation Tax Credit (“OSTC”) for the 2022 taxation year. This will be a personal refundable tax credit computed as 20 per cent of eligible accommodation expenses in Ontario. The maximum amount of expenses on which the credit will apply is $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family. Individuals can claim this credit on their 2022 personal tax returns.
Eligible accommodation expenses will include the following:
In the 2021 Ontario Budget, the Ford government proposed a temporary new Ontario Jobs Training Credit (“OJTC”). Today’s Economic Update proposes to extend the credit by one year to 2022.
The OJTC is computed as 50 per cent of eligible expenses to a maximum credit of $2,000 for the year and is available to individuals who meet the following criteria:
An individual can access their Canada training credit limit on their most recent notice of assessment or reassessment issued by the CRA for the previous tax year.
To be eligible for the 2022 OJTC, an eligible individual must be at least 26 years old and not older than 65 at the end of the year.
Eligible expenses on which the OJTC is computed are the same as those that can be claimed for the federal Canada training credit and include tuition and other fees paid to an eligible education institution in Canada for courses taken the in the tax year, or fees paid to certain regulatory bodies in respect of an occupation, trade or professional examination taken in the year.
In the 2020 Ontario Budget, the provincial government introduced the temporary Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit (“SHSTC”). Today, the government proposes to extend this credit by one year to 2022.
The conditions and limitations in respect of the SHSTC, a refundable 25 per cent tax credit, are the same as those for 2021. The credit is computed on eligible expenses of up to $10,000 per year, and available to senior homeowners and renters or people who live with senior relatives. These expenses can be shared by the people who live together, including spouses and common-law partners.
The maximum SHSTC is $2,500 for the tax year.
Eligible expenses on which the credit is computed include the following:
The above expenses must be paid or become payable in 2022 and incurred for renovations that improve safety and accessibility or help a senior be more functional or mobile at home. By home, the government means the individual’s principal residence or a residence that they can reasonably expect will become their principal residence within 24 months following the end of the particular claim year.
An individual could claim the credit for their share of improvements done by a condominium corporation, or similar body, to property that includes the individual’s principal residence, to the extent that the improvements meet the eligibility conditions.
Individuals should retain receipts for eligible expenses.
The government is proposing amendments to the Business Corporations Act to introduce beneficial ownership information requirements, the purposes of which are to prevent and better detect the use of corporations for tax evasion, money laundering or other illicit financial activities. These amendments will put Ontario on equal footing with most other Canadian jurisdictions.
These measures would require that private corporations collect and maintain beneficial ownership information and make it available upon request to law enforcement, tax authorities and certain regulatory bodies including the Ontario Securities Commission, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
These amendments would be effective January 1, 2023, to ensure sufficient time for the affected companies to adjust and comply. The government also said that it would engage in discussions with stakeholders to ensure the information requirements do not pose undue burden on business owners.
Other details:
Corporations would be required to maintain the following information in respect of individuals with “significant control”:
Updates would be required at least once during each financial year of the corporation, and within 15 days of the corporation becoming aware of a change to any relevant information.
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