There are a lot of challenges for the Ontario small business owner, both for those that are just starting up and for those that are established. For start up businesses there seems to be the never ending output of cash, and then once established in means staying ahead of the competition, and dealing with a fluctuating economy. In either case there is always the Provincial tax as well as the Federal that has to be attended to. This is such an enormous responsibility that most businesses in the Toronto and surrounding area will rely on a quality and experienced Toronto accountant to take on the task of handling the tax matters for them.
One question that is often raised is, how does Ontario compare in the tax system compared to the other Provinces? Being as taxes are a big consideration when starting up a business, some business owners question as to whether setting up business in another province would give them better tax breaks.
The two most recent tax concerns for companies is the possibility of new taxes that are needed to fund the infrastructure, then added to this is the chance there could be a new Ontario pension plan premium that businesses may have to deal with.
While there are many different areas of taxes such as sales and excise, payroll, corporate, personal and property they can each differ province by province. To really determine who has the best tax program they were overall scored. The Second Edition of the Small Business Provincial Tax Index did just that. The end results were that Ontario scores a 5.50 which put them third from the bottom for being the worse. The score ratio was 0 being the worst and 10 being the best. Ontario only managed to beat out Quebec and Nova Scotia. At the top was Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan.
As a person thinking of opening a business, information such as this may be enticing enough for you to consider starting your operation in one of the more tax friendly provinces. While this is an important sector of your business, you also have to consider all of the other business factors, such as your target market, and cost of goods, for example. If Ontario is truly what you consider as your first choice of place to do business then what you need to do is some solid tax planning and have a good Toronto accountant on board that is going to monitor your tax situation for you and ensure that you get all the business tax credits that are available to you. It means staying on top of your tax situation and your financial of the business.
Contact us here at Toronto Accountants and let’s see how we can minimize your tax burden and maximize your tax benefits.
