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INVESTMENT, TAX AND LIFESTYLE PERSPECTIVES FROM RBC WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES

                                 Canada Emergency
                                 Wage Subsidy
                                 In response to COVID-19”, the Canadian federal government
                                 has passed certain measures into law and continues to modify
                                 and propose new measures intended to stabilize the economy
                                 and provide support for Canadian workers and businesses. This
Please contact us for            article is an update on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
more information about
                                 On March 27, 2020, the government announced a new
the topics discussed in          75% temporary wage subsidy program, called the Canada
this article.                    Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), to help businesses retain
                                 employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 11, 2020,
                                 Bill C-14, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No.2, which
                                 included measures relating to the CEWS was passed into law.
                                 On May 15, 2020, the government announced plans to extend
                                 the CEWS qualifying period to August 29, 2020 and expanded
                                 the entities that would be eligible. On July 17, 2020, the
                                 government confirmed their previously announced intention to
                                 extend the CEWS program to December 19, 2020 and released
                                 details and draft legislation, which is now law, on how the
                                 program will apply from July 5 through November 21, 2020 (no
                                 details have been provided on how the program will work after
                                 November 21 to December 19, 2020).

                                 The effect of these new rules is that the CEWS will operate from
                                 March 15 to July 4, 2020 (4 claim periods) under the original
                                 rules discussed in this article and from July 5 to November 21,
                                 2020 under the new rules that are discussed later in this article.

                                 Rules that apply from March            eligible employee in a week, to a
                                 15 to July 4, 2020 (claim              maximum of $847 per week. Originally,
                                 periods 1 to 4)                        the CEWS was supposed to last for
                                                                        a 12 week period, beginning March
                                 The CEWS provides an eligible entity
                                                                        15, 2020 to June 6, 2020. On May 15,
                                 with a wage subsidy of up to 75%
                                                                        2020, the government announced
                                 of eligible remuneration paid to an
                                                                        that it would extend the CEWS by
2 | RBC Wealth Management

an additional 12 weeks, to August 29, 2020. The rules
                                                                        Employees whose remuneration is eligible
discussed in this section cover the claim periods from
March 15 to July 4, 2020 and the changes to the rules
                                                                        for the subsidy are limited to individuals
discussed later in this article cover the claim periods                 employed in Canada by an eligible entity
from July 5 to November 21, 2020. The subsidy is currently              that have not been without remuneration
available to eligible entities whose qualifying revenue                 for 14 or more consecutive days in the
has been reduced by at least 15% in March 2020, and at                  qualifying period.
least 30% in April or May 2020 when compared to the
same months in 2019 (the year-over-year approach) or
when compared to an average of their qualifying revenue
                                                                        the partnership is either an Indigenous government or
earned in January and February 2020 (the alternative
                                                                        an eligible employer will also be eligible entities for the
approach). Eligible entities will need to select the year-
                                                                        purposes of the CEWS. Indigenous governments would
over-year approach or the alternative approach when
                                                                        include First Nation bands, self-governing Indigenous
applying for the CEWS and are required to use that same
                                                                        governments and other comparable Indigenous
method for the entire duration of the program. Note that
                                                                        governing bodies;
businesses that did not operate as of March 1, 2019 must
use the alternative approach.                                       ●   National-level Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic
                                                                        Associations;
Eligible entity
                                                                    ●   Registered journalism organizations; and
The CEWS is available to an eligible entity that had, on
March 15, 2020, a business number registered with the               ●   Non-public educational and training institutions, such
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to make remittances of                      as private colleges and private schools. This would
employee source deductions and is                                       include for-profit and not-for profit institutions such as
                                                                        arts, language, driving, flight and culinary schools.
●   A taxable corporation other than a public institution
    (this includes public corporations and Canadian                 These changes will apply to the first qualifying period
    corporations controlled by one or more non-resident             starting March 15, 2020 and subsequent qualifying periods.
    persons);
                                                                    The government also announced on May 15, 2020 that it is
●   An individual;                                                  proposing to change eligibility for trusts with employees
●   A registered charity or non-profit organization (other          so that a trust that is a tax-exempt entity (other than a
    than a public institution);                                     public institution) will be eligible for the CEWS only if it is a
                                                                    registered charity or one of the other types of eligible tax-
●   A partnership consisting of eligible entities; or,
                                                                    exempt entities. Where a trust is a public institution, it will
●   A prescribed organization.                                      only qualify if it is a prescribed organization. This change
                                                                    applies in respect of the third qualifying period (May 10 to
A public institution would generally include municipalities         June 6, 2020) and any subsequent qualifying period.
and local governments, Crown corporations, wholly owned
municipal corporations, public universities, colleges,              Eligible employees
schools and hospitals.                                              Employees whose remuneration is eligible for the subsidy
                                                                    are limited to individuals employed in Canada by an
On May 15, 2020, the government made regulatory changes
                                                                    eligible entity that have not been without remuneration
to prescribe certain types of organizations in order to
                                                                    for 14 or more consecutive days in the qualifying period
extend eligibility for the CEWS to additional groups. The
                                                                    (known as eligible employees). Those who do not qualify
prescribed organizations described below may now begin
                                                                    may be eligible to claim the Canada Emergency Response
applying for the CEWS, provided they meet all other
                                                                    Benefit (CERB) for that period. For more information on
eligibility criteria:
                                                                    the CERB, ask your RBC advisor for a copy of an article on
●   Partnerships with one or more non-eligible members,             this topic.
    provided that the total non-eligible entities’ interests in
                                                                    Eligible remuneration
    the partnership does not exceed 50% of the fair market
    value of all interests in the partnership at all times in the   Eligible remuneration means salary, wages or other
    qualifying period;                                              remuneration such as taxable benefits, as well as fees,
                                                                    commissions or other amounts for employment services.
●   Tax-exempt Indigenous government-owned corporations             It does not include a retiring allowance, severance pay or
    that are carrying on a business as well as their wholly         items such as stock option benefits or the personal use of
    owned subsidiaries. Partnerships where each partner of          a corporate vehicle. It also does not include any amounts
3 | RBC Wealth Management

reasonably expected to be paid or repaid to the eligible
                                                                  On May 15, 2020, the government
entity or a person not dealing at arm’s length with the
                                                                  announced that it intends to amend the
eligible entity, or another person at the direction of the
eligible entity. As well, it does not include amounts paid
                                                                  CEWS to allow employers to choose one of
in excess of the employee’s baseline remuneration, if it is       two periods when calculating the baseline
expected that after the qualifying period, the employee           remuneration of their employees.
will be paid an amount that is lower than their baseline
remuneration, and if one of the main purposes for the
arrangement is to increase the wage subsidy.                   will also be allowed to choose to include or exclude
                                                               government funding in their revenues for the purposes of
The baseline remuneration for an employee was originally
                                                               the revenue reduction test.
based on the average weekly eligible remuneration
paid between January 1 and March 15, 2020 inclusively,         Revenue is to be calculated using the eligible entity’s
excluding any period of seven or more consecutive days         normal accounting method, which is typically but not
for which the employee did not receive remuneration.           always the accrual method (as revenue is earned). In
                                                               recognition that the time between when revenue is earned
On May 15, 2020, the government announced that it
                                                               and when it is paid could be highly variable in certain
intends to amend the CEWS to allow employers to
                                                               sectors of the economy, eligible entities will be allowed
choose one of two periods when calculating the baseline
                                                               to measure their revenue on a cash basis (as revenue is
remuneration of their employees. This change is intended
                                                               received). If the cash method is elected, it must be used
to provide flexibility for employers in determining
                                                               for the entire duration of the program.
remuneration for employees who were not regularly
employed in early 2020, such as seasonal workers or those      The legislation released on July 5, 2020 allows entities that
who were on parental, disability or unpaid leave.              use the cash method of accounting to elect to use accrual
                                                               based accounting to compute their revenues for the
Employers will be allowed to choose, on an employee-by-
                                                               purpose of the CEWS.S
employee basis, to calculate the baseline remuneration for
an employee based on the average weekly remuneration           Special rules have been provided for the calculation of
paid to the employee from January 1 to March 15, 2020, or,     qualifying revenue for eligible entities that may be part
alternatively, the average weekly remuneration paid to the     of a corporate group or joint venture. In particular, if an
employee from March 1 to May 31 of 2019. In both cases,        eligible entity is part of a group of eligible entities that
any period of seven or more consecutive days without           normally prepares consolidated financial statements, it
remuneration would be excluded.                                may determine its qualifying revenue separately, provided
                                                               that each member of the group also determines its
This change applies to the first qualifying period starting
                                                               revenue on that basis. As well, if an eligible entity is a
March 15, 2020 and subsequent qualifying periods.
                                                               member of an affiliated group of eligible entities, and
Calculation of qualifying revenue                              each member jointly elects, the qualifying revenue of the
                                                               group determined on a consolidated basis in accordance
Qualifying revenue for the purpose of the revenue
                                                               with relevant accounting principles may be used for
reduction test means an eligible entity’s inflow of cash,
                                                               each member of the group. Finally, if an eligible entity is
receivables or other consideration arising in the course
                                                               entirely owned by participants in a joint venture, and all
of its ordinary activities (generally from the sale of
                                                               or substantially all of the qualifying revenue of the eligible
goods, the rendering of services and the use by others
                                                               entity for the qualifying period is in respect of the joint
of resources of the eligible entity) in Canada. Revenue
                                                               venture, then the eligible entity may use the qualifying
excludes extraordinary items and amounts derived from
                                                               revenues of the joint venture (determined as if the joint
persons or partnerships not dealing at arm’s-length with
                                                               venture were an eligible entity).
the employer.
                                                               A special rule for the calculation of revenue has also been
In the case of registered charities, qualifying revenue
                                                               provided for an eligible entity that receives revenue from
includes revenue from a related business, gifts and other
                                                               a non-arm’s-length entity. If all or substantially all of an
amounts received in the course of ordinary activities. For
                                                               eligible entity’s qualifying revenue is from one or more
other tax-exempt entities, such as non-profit organizations,
                                                               persons or partnership with which it does not deal at
qualifying revenue includes membership fees and other
                                                               arm’s-length and each person or partnership jointly elects
amounts received in the course of its ordinary activities.
                                                               with the eligible entity, then the eligible entity’s revenue
Both registered charities and non-profit organizations
                                                               from the non-arm’s-length source may qualify as revenue
4 | RBC Wealth Management

if the non-arm’s-length person or partnership experiences
a revenue loss from the arm’s-length source based on the            The CEWS program is distinctive to
revenue reduction test mentioned above.                             the Temporary Wage Subsidy program
                                                                    enacted on March 25, 2020. This program
On May 15, 2020, the government proposed to allow                   is discussed in more detail in a separate
corporations formed on an amalgamation of two or more               article on this topic.
predecessor corporations (or where a corporation is
wound up into another) to calculate revenue using their
combined revenues, unless it is reasonable to consider
that one of the main purposes of the amalgamation or             2.	the amount of eligible remuneration paid up to a
wind up was to qualify for the CEWS. Without this change,            maximum of $847 per week or 75% of the employee’s
a newly amalgamated corporation may not qualify for the             “baseline remuneration”, whichever is less.
CEWS since they would not have benchmark revenues to
prove a revenue decline or their benchmark revenues may          For those employees whose remuneration was decreased
not provide a full picture of their pre-crisis revenues. This    after the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, this formula
change would apply to the first qualifying period starting       provides that the subsidy may effectively be as high as
March 15, 2020 and subsequent qualifying period.                 100% of the eligible remuneration paid to the employee for
                                                                 the week, subject to a maximum of $847 per week.
Qualifying periods
There were originally three four-week periods (the claim         Based on the formula, the subsidy for a new employee
period) for which an eligible entity could claim the subsidy:    hired after March 15, 2020 is 75% of the amount of eligible
                                                                 remuneration paid, up to a maximum of $847 per week.
●   March 15 to April 11, 2020 (period 1);
●   April 12 to May 9, 2020 (period 2); and                      The subsidy amount for non-arm’s length employees
                                                                 will be the least of the amount of eligible remuneration
●   May 10 to June 6, 2020 (period 3)
                                                                 paid for that week, 75% of the employee’s baseline
As previously mentioned, the government announced on             remuneration, and $847. This means that the subsidy
May 15, 2020 that they are extending the qualifying periods      would only be available in respect of non-arm’s length
beyond June 6, 2020 to August 29, 2020. This added three         employees employed prior to March 15, 2020.
more claim periods of June 7 to July 4, 2020 (period 4), July
5 to August 1, 2020 (period 5) and August 2 to August 29,
                                                                 Interaction with the Temporary Wage Subsidy
2020 (period 6). Of these, only claim period 4 will follow       program and work-sharing benefits
the original rules. Claim periods 5 and 6, from July 5 to        The CEWS program is distinctive to the Temporary Wage
August 1, 2020 and from August 2 to August 29, 2020 will         Subsidy program enacted on March 25, 2020. This program
follow the rules announced on July 17, 2020 which are            is discussed in more detail in a separate article on this
discussed later on in this article.                              topic. If an employer claims the 10% subsidy under the
                                                                 Temporary Wage Subsidy program, it will reduce the
Once an eligible entity is found eligible for a specific claim   amount available under the CEWS, such that the maximum
period, the entity will automatically qualify for the next       subsidy an eligible entity can receive is 75%. As well,
claim period. For example, an eligible entity with a drop        employers that do not qualify for the CEWS, for example,
in revenue of at least 15% in March 2020 will qualify for        because they did not experience enough of a reduction
the first and second claim period, covering remuneration         in revenue, may still be able to qualify for the Temporary
paid from March 15 to May 9, 2020. Similarly, an eligible        Wage Subsidy.
entity with a drop in revenue of at least 30% in April 2020
will qualify for the second and third claim period, covering     The CEWS will also be reduced by amounts received by
remuneration paid from April 12 to June 6, 2020.                 eligible employees as work-sharing benefits under the
                                                                 Employment Insurance Act.
Amount of subsidy
The amount of the subsidy available in respect of each           Refund for certain employer payroll contributions
eligible employee that deals at arm’s-length with the            The CEWS includes a 100% refund for certain employer
eligible entity is the greater of                                contributions to Employment Insurance (EI), the Canada
                                                                 Pension Plan, the Quebec Pension Plan, and the Quebec
1.	75% of the amount of eligible remuneration paid, to a        Parental Insurance Plan. This refund covers 100% of
    maximum of $847 per week; and,                               employer contributions for eligible employees who are on
                                                                 leave with pay throughout a week (not just a portion of the
5 | RBC Wealth Management

week) and for which the employer is eligible to claim the
CEWS for those employees. This refund is not based on               On July 17, 2020, the government confirmed
the weekly maximum benefit per employee of $847 that an             their previously announced intention to
eligible employer may claim in respect of the CEWS. There           extend the CEWS program to December 19,
is no overall limit on the refund that an eligible employer         2020 and released draft legislation on how
may claim. Employers are still required to continue to              the program will apply from July 5 through
collect and remit employer and employee contributions to            November 21, 2020.
each program, and would apply for a refund at the same
time they apply for the CEWS.

Applying for the CEWS
                                                                The following highlights the changes to the existing CEWS
An eligible entity must file an application with the CRA
                                                                program.
through the My Business Account portal as well as a web-
based application. The proposed legislation announced           Effective from July 5, 2020, for claim periods 5 to 9,
on July 17, 2020 extends the application deadline from          the CEWS will be available to an eligible entity that
September 30 to December 31, 2020. The individual with          experiences any decline in revenue instead of having to
the principal responsibility for the financial activities of    have a decline in revenue of at least 30%. This means that
the eligible entity must attest to the completeness and         the CEWS will now be available to more eligible entities.
accuracy of the application.                                    However, instead of the subsidy being a fixed 75% of
                                                                eligible remuneration, the subsidy will consist of a variable
Treatment of subsidy to employer                                base subsidy, for any eligible employers that experience
Amounts due to the eligible entity under the CEWS are           a drop in revenue and an additional top-up subsidy for
deemed to give rise to an overpayment of income tax by          eligible employers that experience a drop in revenue of
the eligible entity. The overpayment is refundable to the       more than 50%. The subsidy is calculated on a maximum
eligible entity at any time during the tax year. In addition,   remuneration of $1,129 per employee per week.
the amount that the eligible entity receives is considered
government assistance, which means it is taxable to the         Qualifying periods
eligible entity and would affect certain federal tax credits    Here are the claim periods that these rules apply to:
determined with respect to this remuneration. Of course,
                                                                ●   Period 5: July 5 to August 1, 2020
the eligible entity may claim a deduction for remuneration
paid to their employees.                                        ●   Period 6: August 2 to August 29, 2020
                                                                ●   Period 7: August 30 to September 26, 2020
Anti-avoidance measures and penalties
Bill C-14 includes anti-avoidance measures targeted at          ●   Period 8: September 27 to October 24, 2020
eligible entities who engage in artificial transactions         ●   Period 9: October 25 to November 21, 2020
to reduce revenue for the purposes of claiming the
CEWS. Where the anti-avoidance rules apply, the eligible        Base subsidy
entity is liable for a penalty that is generally equal to       The maximum base subsidy will be 60% for claim periods 5
25% of the amount of the subsidy claimed, in addition           and 6 and will be reached where the revenue drop is equal
to the requirement to repay in full the subsidy that was        to 50% or more. However, an eligible employer who would
improperly claimed.                                             have qualified for the 75% subsidy under the original rules
                                                                will still be entitled to a 75% subsidy for periods 5 and 6.
Rules that apply from July 5 to November 21,                    The maximum base subsidy will be reduced to 50% in claim
2020 (claim periods 5 to 9)                                     period 7, 40% in claim period 8 and 20% in claim period 9.
On July 17, 2020, the government confirmed their previously
announced intention to extend the CEWS program to               The base subsidy rate for claim period 5 and 6 will be
December 19, 2020 and released draft legislation on how         calculated as 1.2 x the drop in revenue up to a 50% drop (so
the program will apply from July 5 through November 21,         a maximum subsidy of 1.2 x 50% = 60% in period 5 and 6). In
2020 (no details have been provided on how the program          claim period 7 the multiplier is 1 times the drop in revenue,
will work from November 22 to December 19, 2020). On July       in claim period 8 it is 0.8 and in claim period 9 it is 0.4.
20, 2020 Bill C-20, which contains this proposed legislation,
was introduced in the House of Commons and received
Royal Assent on July 27, 2020.
6 | RBC Wealth Management

Table 1 illustrates the base subsidy rates for each claim period.

                                                    Table 1 – BASE SUBSIDY RATES

                                                                                 Period 7
                             Period 5 *               Period 6 *                                            Period 8                   Period 9
  Revenue                                                                      August 30 to
                             July 5 to                August 2 to                                      September 27 to              October 25 to
  Drop                                                                        September 26,
                           August 1, 2020           August 29, 2020                                    October 24, 2020           November 21, 2020
                                                                                  2020

                           1.2 x revenue             1.2 x revenue              1 x revenue              0.8 x revenue              0.4 x revenue
  0% to 49%
                                drop                      drop                      drop                      drop                       drop

 50% and over                   60%                       60%                       50%                       40%                         20%

  Maximum
  weekly
                            Up to $677                Up to $677                Up to $565                Up to $452                  Up to $226
  benefit per
  employee #

* In Periods 5 and 6, employers who would have been better off under the original CEWS program in Periods 1 to 4 would be eligible for a 75% wage subsidy
   if they have a revenue decline of 30% or more.
# This is calculated based on a maximum remuneration of $1,129 per employee per week.

Top-up subsidy
A top-up subsidy of up to 25% would be available to eligible employers that have experienced a 3-month average revenue
drop of more than 50%. The top-up rate is equal to 1.25 times the average revenue drop that exceeds 50%, up to a
maximum top-up rate of 25%. As such, an employer will receive a 25% top up if they experience a revenue decline of 70%
or more. As with the base subsidy rate, the top-up rate would apply to remuneration of up to $1,129 per employee per
week. The top-up subsidy rate for selected average revenue drop levels is illustrated in Table 2.

           Table 2 – TOP-UP SUBSIDY RATE FOR SELECTED AVERAGE REVENUE DROP LEVELS

                                                           Top-up calculation = 1.25 x
  3-month average revenue drop                                                                                       Top-up CEWS rate
                                                         (3 month revenue drop – 50%)

  70% and over                                                1.25 x (70% - 50%) = 25%                                        25%

  65%                                                       1.25 x (65% - 50%) = 18.75%                                      18.75%

  60%                                                        1.25 x (60% - 50%) = 12.5%                                      12.5%

  55%                                                        1.25 x (55% - 50%) = 6.25%                                      6.25%

  50% and under                                               1.25 x (50% - 50%) = 0%                                          0%
7 | RBC Wealth Management

Reference periods for the drop-in-revenues test
Base subsidy
For the purpose of the base subsidy, eligibility would generally be determined by the change in an eligible employer's
monthly revenues, year-over-year, for the applicable calendar month.

Similar to the rules for periods 1 to 4 under the original rules, if an eligible employer qualifies for one claim period they will
automatically qualify for the following claim period. They would be able to use the greater of their percentage revenue
decline in the current period and that in the previous period for the purpose of determining their base subsidy rate in the
current claim period.

Eligible employers that have elected to use the alternative approach for the first 4 claim periods would be able to either
maintain that election for period 5 and onward or revert to the year-over-year approach. Similarly, employers that have
used the year-over-year approach for the first 4 claim periods would be able to either continue with the year-over-year
approach or elect to use the alternative approach for period 5 and onward. Whichever approach they choose would apply
for claim period 5 and onward and would apply to the calculation of the base subsidy and the top-up subsidy.

Top-up subsidy
For the purpose of the top-up subsidy, eligibility would generally be determined by the change in an eligible employer's
revenues for a 3-month period. Table 3 outlines each claim period and the relevant 3-month period for determining an
eligible employer’s average change in revenue.

                              Table 3 – REFERENCE PERIODS FOR THE TOP-UP SUBSIDY

                         Claim period                     Year-over-year approach                             Alternative approach

                                                         April to June 2020 over April to                 April to June 2020 average over
  Period 5          July 5 to August 1, 2020
                                                                     June 2019                         January and February 2020 average*

                     August 2 to August 29,               May to July 2020 over May to                    May to July 2020 average over
  Period 6
                             2020                                   July 2019                          January and February 2020 average*

                   August 30 to September                 June to August 2020 over June                  June to August 2020 average over
  Period 7
                          26, 2020                                to August 2019                       January and February 2020 average*

                   September 27 to October                 July to September 2020 over                 July to September 2020 average over
  Period 8
                          24, 2020                            July to September 2019                   January and February 2020 average*

                   October 25 to November                 August to October 2020 over                  August to October 2020 average over
  Period 9
                          21, 2020                          August to October 2019                     January and February 2020 average*

* The calculation would equal the average monthly revenue over the 3 months of the reference period divided by the average revenue for the months of
   January and February 2020.

Eligible employees                                                             of furloughed employees under the CEWS program
Employees who are without remuneration for 14 or more                          by 4 weeks – from August 30 to September 26 (claim
consecutive days in a period will no longer be excluded                        period 7). On September 25, 2020 the government again
from being eligible employees, effective July 5, 2020.                         proposed to extend the current treatment of furloughed
                                                                               employees under the CEWS program by another 4 weeks
Beginning in claim period 7, CEWS support for furloughed                       from September 27 to October 24, 2020 (claim period 8).
employees (generally employees on paid leave) was to be                        This would mean that employers who qualify for the CEWS
adjusted to align with the benefits provided through the                       would be able to continue to claim up to a maximum benefit
CERB and/or EI. This means that their eligible remuneration                    of $847 per week to support remuneration for each of their
would have been limited to the amount that the employee                        furloughed workers. Further details about the calculation of
would receive under the CERB. However, on August 21, 2020                      CEWS for furloughed workers for remaining periods of the
the government proposed to extend the current treatment                        program will be announced in the coming weeks.
8 | RBC Wealth Management

Eligible remuneration                                                                    Other legislative amendments
For active arm’s-length employees, the amount                                            The government also made additional technical changes
of remuneration would be based solely on actual                                          that would generally apply as of March 15, 2020, some
remuneration paid for the eligibility period, without                                    of which are not discussed in this article. These include
reference to the pre-crisis remuneration concept used                                    measures relate to providing an appeals process and
for earlier CEWS periods. A special rule would apply to                                  determining revenue decline for newly-purchased
active employees that do not deal at arm's length with the                               businesses. The government is also moving forward with
employer. For period 5 and subsequent periods, the wage                                  previously released legislative changes that are covered in
subsidy for non-arm’s length employees would be based                                    the section on rules that apply from March 15 to July 5, 2020.
on the employee’s weekly eligible remuneration or pre-
crisis remuneration, whichever is less, up to a maximum                                  Conclusion
of $1,129. The subsidy would only be available in respect of                             The CEWS rules continue to be modified and get more
non-arm's-length employees that were employed prior to                                   complex. It is important to seek professional tax advice in
March 16, 2020.                                                                          determining if you qualify, and if you do, the amount of the
                                                                                         subsidy and how to apply.
For period 5 and subsequent periods, the pre-crisis
remuneration of an employee would be based on the                                        This article may contain strategies, not all of which will
average weekly remuneration paid to the employee                                         apply to your particular financial circumstances. The
from January 1 to March 15, 2020 or from July 1, 2019 to                                 information in this article is not intended to provide
December 31, 2019. In all cases, the calculation of average                              legal, tax or insurance advice. To ensure that your own
weekly remuneration would exclude any period of 7 or                                     circumstances have been properly considered and that
more consecutive days without remuneration. Employers                                    action is taken based on the latest information available,
can choose which period to use on an employee-by-                                        you should obtain professional advice from a qualified tax,
employee basis.                                                                          legal and/or insurance advisor before acting on any of the
                                                                                         information in this article.

This document has been prepared for use by the RBC Wealth Management member companies, RBC Dominion Securities Inc. (RBC DS)*, RBC Phillips, Hager & North
Investment Counsel Inc. (RBC PH&N IC), RBC Global Asset Management Inc. (RBC GAM), Royal Trust Corporation of Canada and The Royal Trust Company (collectively,
the “Companies”) and their affiliates, RBC Direct Investing Inc. (RBC DI) *, RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc. (RBC WMFS) and Royal Mutual Funds Inc.
(RMFI). *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Each of the Companies, their affiliates and the Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are
affiliated. “RBC advisor” refers to Private Bankers who are employees of Royal Bank of Canada and mutual fund representatives of RMFI, Investment Counsellors who are
employees of RBC PH&N IC, Senior Trust Advisors and Trust Officers who are employees of The Royal Trust Company or Royal Trust Corporation of Canada, or Investment
Advisors who are employees of RBC DS. In Quebec, financial planning services are provided by RMFI or RBC WMFS and each is licensed as a financial services firm in that
province. In the rest of Canada, financial planning services are available through RMFI, Royal Trust Corporation of Canada, The Royal Trust Company, or RBC DS. Estate and
trust services are provided by Royal Trust Corporation of Canada and The Royal Trust Company. If specific products or services are not offered by one of the Companies
or RMFI, clients may request a referral to another RBC partner. Insurance products are offered through RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc., a subsidiary of
RBC Dominion Securities Inc. When providing life insurance products in all provinces except Quebec, Investment Advisors are acting as Insurance Representatives of RBC
Wealth Management Financial Services Inc. In Quebec, Investment Advisors are acting as Financial Security Advisors of RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc.
RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc. is licensed as a financial services firm in the province of Quebec. The strategies, advice and technical content in this
publication are provided for the general guidance and benefit of our clients, based on information believed to be accurate and complete, but we cannot guarantee its
accuracy or completeness. This publication is not intended as nor does it constitute tax or legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified legal, tax or other professional
advisor when planning to implement a strategy. This will ensure that their individual circumstances have been considered properly and that action is taken on the latest
available information. Interest rates, market conditions, tax rules, and other investment factors are subject to change. This information is not investmet advice and should
only be used in conjunction with a discussion with your RBC advisor. None of the Companies, RMFI, RBC WMFS, RBC DI, Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates or any
other person accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this report or the information contained herein. ®/TM Registered
trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. © 2020 Royal Bank of Canada. All rights reserved. NAV0268                                                    (10/20)
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