Ironically, one of Canada’s largest tax-incentive programs is also one of the most under-used. Make sure that you look into it to determine if your business qualifies.
“To be eligible for the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program, business owners do not have to be in a high-tech industry,” notes Chartered Accountant Jeff Nightingale, Partner, Lipton Wiseman Altbaum & Partners LLP in Toronto.
Various changes proposed for 2009 make this program even more accessible for businesses. There are also new filing requirements. Specific details are available on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website at [url=http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/sred/]http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/sred/[/url].
Ask yourself the following questions: Do you develop new products, are you in the process of developing one, or even improving existing products? Are you improving methods by which you produce an existing product? Are you spending money on improvements that will have an environmental impact on your manufacturing process? Are you developing techniques to reduce waste? Do you write computer software?
“If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you could qualify for a very generous cash refund and/or tax credit at a rate of up to 35 per cent,” explains Nightingale.
To qualify, the SR&ED activity must be approved from a scientific perspective. It’s important to be aware that the tax legislation surrounding this program is complicated and those seeking the credit may require expert advice.
For further information about the SR&ED program, contact a Chartered Accountant.
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial Institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide national standards and programs that are used as examples around the world. </em>
