Ontario’s small businesses will benefit from the Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth with more than $1 billion of tax relief over the next three years.

Small businesses will see their Corporate Income Tax rate fall on July 1 to 4.5 per cent from 5.5 per cent on the first $500,000 of active business income. In addition, the small business deduction surtax will be eliminated on July 1. That amounts to savings of up to $5,000 for every qualifying small business in the province.

Administrative time and costs will also drop dramatically with the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). As the provincial and federal tax forms are replaced by the single HST form, small businesses could save between $2,000 and $4,000 per employee on compliance costs. In addition, the 14 per cent of administrative time currently taken up by tax compliance will be drastically reduced as the HST filing system comes into effect.

This means small business owners will have more time and money to maximize productivity, create jobs and expand into new markets.

Support for small businesses is an important part of Ontario’s modernization of an out-dated, 50-year-old, tax system. The new plan also includes permanent income tax cuts for families and permanent sales tax credits.

According to tax expert and economist Jack Mintz, Ontario’s tax plan will create about 600,000 new jobs in the next decade. This tax package is a key component of the five-year Open Ontario plan, which supports job creation and enhances the programs and services, including education, health care and skills training, that Ontarians value.