Immediate Expensing Rules: Good Tax Policy?

Over the course of the last two federal budgets (April 16, 2024 and November 4, 2025), the rules for claiming Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) have been uncertain. The proposal to extend immediate expensing rules for certain acquired assets were paused for over a year and then re-introduced in a series of four complex measures which together with new rules for Scientific Research and Experimental Development have become known as the “Productivity Super-Deduction”.  A backdrop appears below. The key question: will this complexity be effective as an economic stimulator?   

Change is difficult at the best of times but today, it’s harder, especially for business leaders, owners and managers. 

Did you know that our newly revamped VIP Affinity Program is still available to Knowledge Bureau graduates?

CRA has finally released the updated Disability Tax Form for the 2021 tax filing year which ended April 30 for individuals and June 15 for proprietors. Medical practitioners who complete Part B of form T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate using the digital application process will find that it is now updated to reflect the expanded eligibility criteria for mental functions and life-sustaining therapies, particular interest to diabetics and their caregivers. Here’s what you need to know:

Canadian taxpayers pay substantially higher taxes on personal income, profits & gains, corporate income & gains, payroll taxes and property taxes than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average, based on 2019 statistics. Reflecting the environment prior to the pandemic, Canada’s economy was doing well and unemployment was at  5.7% - the lowest annual level on record at that time, according to Statistics Canada. Women and working boomers seem to have suffered the most fallout from the pandemic, but GenXers were not immune to the economic pain either.

While inflation is characterized by an increase in prices in an economy, a recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth; that is, the inflation-adjusted growth of an overall economy.  Higher inflation obviously has a significant impact on this definition.   The two concepts are a double-edged sword in today’s economic climate and it will impact the conversations you may be initiating with your concerned clients:

The CRA has at least 2,500 CEWS audits of large Canadian businesses underway. It is anticipated that what they learn from those audits will then be used to audit small and medium-sized businesses across the country over the next decade. There is no audit limitation period, meaning that every business should anticipate having to defend their CEWS claims at some point in time.  The September 21 CE Summit, will cover this topic in depth with one of Canada’s leading tax litigators and a tax lawyer with broad experience in resolving audits, David Robertson and Evelyn Tang from EY Law LLP.