Ontario businesses opened their doors to a new era of growth and prosperity.

By modernizing an out of date, 50-year old tax system, Ontario is providing tax cuts to families and businesses and implementing the Harmonized Sales Tax – which removes the hidden taxes we all pay. These changes will make the province one of the most competitive jurisdictions in the world, putting Ontario on a level playing field with 140 other countries and 4 other provinces.

Minister of Revenue John Wilkinson marked the first business day after the implementation of Ontario’s tax changes by visiting Kobayashi Technology, a Toronto business that provides web and print solutions for small businesses.

Kobayashi Technology understands that the benefits of Ontario’s new tax package will mean new opportunities to compete for new business customers with lower prices, giving it the potential to expand and create jobs.

Under the Harmonized Sales Tax, businesses are refunded for the tax they pay on many of the things they need to buy to operate – things like computers and office supplies. Those savings make it cheaper to do business in Ontario and can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower retail prices.

As of July 1, Ontario’s tax plan is helping businesses save money and become more competitive by:

• Reducing business costs – businesses are reimbursed for the tax they pay on many of their purchases and capital investments.
• Lowering administrative costs – businesses will save over $500 million a year in administrative and compliance costs thanks to a single, federally administered tax system.
• Providing business tax cuts – Ontario is providing $4.6 billion in tax relief over the next three years.

Ontario’s comprehensive tax package is part of the five-year Open Ontario plan to create jobs, grow the economy and build a stronger Ontario. It is estimated that these changes will help create almost 600,000 net new within the next 10 years.