COVID-19 Tax Updates

On Monday, September 28, 2020, the Louisiana Legislature will convene for 30 calendar days in the second special session of 2020. While special sessions are nothing unusual for Louisiana state lawmakers—there have been nine called in the last five years—this will be the second time this year (and in recent memory) the Legislature has exercised its state constitutional authority to call itself into session without direction from the governor. Read more...

Washington DC’s Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) has announced some relief as set forth in OTR Form ASD-201, the Real Property Penalty and Interest Waiver Application. This form, if filed timely and accepted by OTR, will allow for impacted hotels to request a waiver of late fees that would otherwise be imposed if they paid their taxes after the September 15 deadline. Read more...

The following bulletin highlights a potential cost reduction opportunity regarding the 2021 state unemployment tax rates in light of COVID-19. Read more...

As COVID-19 continues to adversely impact the economy, most businesses are struggling to survive and stay open. They are enduring significant declines in revenue, diminished investment returns, and even concerns over their ability to pay basic operating expenses, including salaries, rent, mortgages, taxes, and the like. At such a time, many governments are looking to give business relief by lowering tax burdens, particularly to businesses that have worked hard to attract to their city. However, this is not true for the District of Columbia. The Mayor and City Council have repealed the tax benefits previously provided to Qualified High-Technology Companies (QHTC) in Washington, D.C. Read more...

On July 31, 2020, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed an executive order addressing certain property tax requirements impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The order extends the deadline for county assessment appeal boards to issue a decision on pending tax assessment appeals filed on or before March 4, 2020 to January 31, 2021. Learn more...

On July 21, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue updated its guidance for activities related to the pandemic in Technical Information Release (TIR) 20-10. The following provisions are in effect until the earlier of December 31, 2020 or 90 days after the state of emergency in Massachusetts is lifted. Read more...

On Wednesday, July 15, the Orleans Parish Assessors Office released its 2021 initial assessments. Assessments have been reduced across all commercial property, and the largest year-over-year reductions are in the hospitality sector, which reflect up to 55% reductions from the 2020 values. Read more...

On Monday, June 29, Jefferson County, Alabama property tax notices were issued with an official appeal deadline of July 29, 2020. The values reverted to the original 2019 values despite the possible effects COVID-19 could have had on businesses and property owners in the area. Read more...

On Wednesday, June 17, the Metro Council approved a 34% property tax hike that was proposed by Mayor John Cooper April 28, 2020. The hike is part of a budget that was approved in a 32-8 vote, despite opposition for the past two years by councilmembers. This shift could be driven because of recent tornados and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The increase is set to raise Davidson County’s property tax rate by $1.066 per $100 of assessed value. Read more...

The Nebraska Department of Revenue (DOR) issued a report on the effects the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)¹ will have on the state’s tax revenue. Nebraska statute adopts the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) on a rolling basis.² However, after any changes are made to the IRC, the DOR is required to issue a report within 60 days to evaluate the changes in the IRC and the impact they will have on state revenue.³ Read more...

Cobb County, Georgia issued 2020 assessment notices on Thursday, May 21. Certain properties received large valuation increases despite current conditions. Properties that received significant increases include Class A multifamily, high-rise office buildings, newly constructed commercial developments, and properties that were previously appealed and have satisfied the provisions of O.C.G.A. 48-5-299C, the Georgia statute dictating a two-year freeze following a successful Board of Equalization appeal. Read more...

Recognizing the financial impact of COVID-19, Cook County has announced a plan to waive late fees on property tax payments for residential and commercial owners. Under the ordinance, interest penalties for late payments of the second installment tax bills, which are normally due August 1, will now be postponed until October 1. Read more...

The Suffolk County Executive, Steve Bellone, and the county’s Municipal Finance Working Group devised a plan to extend the deadline for the upcoming taxes. This plan was submitted to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday, May 22, 2020, requesting an extension of the deadline for property tax bills until July 15, 2020. Read more...

On May 12, 2020, the Public Policy Institute of California’s latest Split Roll poll shows gaining support of registered voters (54%). Additionally, Split Roll 2.0, a modified version of the already qualified Split Roll 1.0, gathered 1.7 million signatures of which about 997,000 must be validated to make the November 2020 ballot. If validated, it will likely replace version 1.0. Read more...

On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) met to talk about the coronavirus impacts to the state of Colorado’s budget for the current year and future years. The JBC heard from various economic forecasters and from Ms. JoAnn Groff, Property Tax Administrator for the state of Colorado. Read more...

Ryan is exploring opportunities for property tax relief in Illinois for COVID-19 damage. Under the Illinois Property Tax Code § 200/13-5, taxpayers may apply for reassessment of any taxable property that was “substantially damaged” by a disaster. Read more...

On March 22, Governor John Bel Edwards issued a shelter-in-place order for the state of Louisiana. Just two days later, he requested and received a major disaster declaration for the state. Both were done based on the soaring number of COVID-19 cases spawning from the outbreak that started in the New Orleans metropolitan area. Read more...

The Alabama market has been deeply impacted by COVID-19, especially as it relates to hospitality, retail, multifamily, and office assets. Unfortunately, many jurisdictions in the state have significantly increased values over the last two years as a result of the Alabama Department of Revenue (DOR) updating its appraisal manual. The COVID-19 situation, on top of an increased tax base, adds to the struggle property owners are facing. Read more...

On May 8, 2020, the Delaware Court of Chancery (“Court”) ruled that the assessment practices of all Delaware counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) fail to comply with state statute and the Delaware Constitution. Delaware statute requires real property to be assessed at its present fair market value, and the Delaware Constitution requires that all taxes be uniform upon the same class of subject properties within the territorial limits of the taxing authority (Uniformity Clause). Read more...

In March, Ryan began to closely follow the potential 2021 Nashville property tax increases proposed by Mayor John Cooper. On April 28, 2020, the mayor announced his push again via press conference. While the mayor’s first-round budget proposal reflects a possible 32% increase in the property tax rate, the budget and rate must be approved by the Metro Council prior to June 30. Read more...

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) has been one the fastest-growing and desirable real estate markets in the country since we came out of the Great Recession of 2008/2009. Unfortunately, DFW is experiencing the harmful impacts of the COVID-19 “shelter-in-place” orders, resulting in high unemployment and catastrophic losses for hotel owners, retailers, restaurants, and many other businesses. This has put the DFW area chief appraisers in a very tough situation. Read more...

The D.C. Council approved the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act, which included a provision that prohibits residential landlords from raising rent during the public health emergency. This move brings much needed relief to the individuals suffering from job loss and reduced incomes, as a result of the pandemic. The council took it a step further, and on April 21, extended the proposal to protect commercial tenants from rent hikes during the crisis for the duration of 30 days after the state of the emergency has ended. Read more...

As transfer pricing documentation requirements have become pervasive globally, certain transfer pricing positions have also become widespread. Due to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, at least some of these common transfer pricing positions should be reassessed. One specific position that appears to have become a globally accepted term is low risk distributor (LRD) or low risk service provider (LRSP). This specific theory states that LRDs and LRSPs cannot ever lose money. COVID-19 and the present economic downturn warrant a review of this axiom. Read more...

Given the large losses in market value caused by COVID-19 restrictions in California, reassessment to reflect those losses presents an opportunity for significant relief from property taxation for taxpayers in California. Read more...

This week, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued a Technical Information Release (TIR)¹ and a Directive², both relating to issues coming out of the work-from-home orders in the state. The TIR explains that the state will not confer nexus for tax purposes based upon employees working from home. Read more...

The Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR) announced on April 14, 2020 that it will not impose a nexus filing requirement on companies with employees working from home in Minnesota. This is an update to our previous release on April 7, 2020. Minnesota now joins the District of Columbia, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as jurisdictions that will not determine nexus based on employees working from home in their state.

The New York Department of Taxation and Finance (“Department”) is temporarily authorized to accept digital signatures in place of handwritten signatures on documents related to the determination or collection of tax liabilities. Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 202.15 and Department Notice N-20-3 provide that the temporary period runs through May 9, 2020. Read more...

Local Relief from Penalties and Interest

In what could become a growing trend, depending on anticipated tax collection shortfalls, experts at Ryan are aware that one New Jersey municipality is granting forgiveness of penalty and interest on late real estate tax payments. Read more...

Ryan is exploring potential property tax relief as a result of harm caused by COVID-19 to real and business personal property in Texas. Under newly enacted Texas Tax Code § 11.35, taxpayers suffering damage to their property caused by a governor-declared disaster may receive a temporary exemption from a portion of their property tax liability. This exemption is allowed for property that has suffered at least 15% damage caused by a disaster and applies proportionately to property tax liabilities. Read more...

As reported by Ryan in a previous article, on March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law a relief package in response to the economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (HR 748), also known as the CARES Act. Some of the highlights of the CARES Act are the Federal Employee Retention Credit, Net Operating Loss (NOL) and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) provisions, and various small and large business relief provisions. Read more...

What the Federal Government has put into place to date is summarized in the following:

• Phase 1 – “Coronavirus Supplemental Appropriations,” which provides financial aid for the federal, state, and local public health response
• Phase 2 – “Families First Coronavirus Response,” which targets relief for individuals, including mandatory, but refundable, paid family leave to small businesses
• Phase 3 – “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act), which is designed to deliver cash to individuals, small businesses, as well as the retail and hospitality industries to help them weather the economic downturn

Read more...

This week, the Cook County Assessor announced that he will restart the clock on this year’s round of property valuations based on the COVID-19 pandemic. New assessment notices will be mailed to property owners in the nine townships that had already been notified from his office earlier this year. With the new assessment notices, the Assessor’s Office will consider the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the region’s real estate market. Read more...

On April 2, 2020, the Governor of Colorado signed an executive order (DOR E.O. 2020-022) extending the 2020 business personal property filing deadline to June 15, 2020. Also extended, to May 15, are the state-level filing deadlines for public utilities, taxable natural resource property, airline and rail transportation companies as well as taxable oil and gas property. The protest period will be adjusted based on this extension. Read more...

In our article posted on March 31, 2020, we noted that working from home could open a Pandora’s box of tax problems when multiple states are involved. The Oregon/Washington border clash was apparent, with Oregon issuing a warning to Washington businesses with employees working at home in Oregon. The outcome could be an unexpected tax bill if state income taxes were not withheld from the Oregon employees. Read more...

On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced during his first State of Metro that he will propose a “sharply” increased property tax rate despite the uncertainty the nation is facing as a result of the ongoing virus and the inevitable recession that will follow. This move is a stark contrast to the rest of the nation that seemingly understands the hardship that the hospitality and entertainment industry is going through—a considerable portion of downtown Nashville’s economy. Read more...

On March 19, 2020, Governor Eric Holcomb issued Indiana Executive Order 20-05 (EO 20-05), which extends several Indiana property tax deadlines. Implementation of EO 20-05 has been clarified by additional executive orders as detailed below. Read more...

As if we weren’t already living in uncertain times, a workforce almost totally on lockdown or sheltering in place comes with potential tax implications for employers. There could be exposure to additional payroll withholding taxes, corporate income tax, and sales tax. Read more...

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law a relief package developed by lawmakers in response to the global economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (HR 748), also known as the CARES Act, is estimated to be more than $2 trillion in stimulus to protect workers and businesses. Read more...

Oftentimes during a business crisis, taxpayers overlook their obligations to pay taxes due. Some businesses that find themselves in a cash shortage forget that trustee taxes (sales and payroll taxes) are not the taxpayers’ funds but money that belongs to the government. As government property, they must be remitted timely. Failure to remit trustee taxes, many times, results in severe penalties and sanctions with little to no relief. Read more...

Louisiana Governor Suspends All Legal Deadlines; Legislature Recessed until March 31, 2020

On Monday, March 16, 2020, Governor John Bel Edwards issued Proclamation Number JBE 2020-30. The Proclamation suspends all legal deadlines, including administrative agencies and boards, “…until at least Monday, April 13, 2020.” This includes Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which deals with revenue and taxation. Therefore, this will be applicable to the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals and the Louisiana Department of Revenue. Read more...

As part of its 2020 budget and overall pandemic management strategy, Ontario recently announced significant relief initiatives for owners and renters of commercial property in the province. These measures, which range from operating cost rebates to property tax rate reductions, have been summarized below. Read more...

Both the COVID-19 pandemic and continued compression of oil prices have put Alberta under considerable strain. While the province operates on an annualized assessment cycle, each municipality is responsible for assessing properties based on market value. During these turbulent times, the city of Calgary continues to see a significant shift in the market value of non-residential properties. Read more...

At the end of September 2020, the Government of Quebec introduced Bill 67 which, if enacted, will suspend article 174(19) of the Municipal Taxation Act. Article 174(19) of the Municipal Taxation Act allows property values to be revised, taking into consideration any negative impacts resulting from legal restrictions on the possible uses of a building. Read more...

The British Columbia Ministry of Finance recently revised Tax Notice 2020-002, “COVID-19 Sales Tax Changes,” to provide more information on the following forms of relief available to taxpayers. Extended filing and payment due dates: Effective March 24, 2020, the due dates for most filings and payments for carbon tax, motor fuel tax, provincial sales tax (PST), municipal and regional district tax (MRDT) on accommodation, and tobacco tax. Learn more...

Manitoba has announced in Information Notice Fuel 20-04, “International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Extension of Waiver of IFTA Credentials,” that it is temporarily waiving IFTA credentials requirements for Manitoba carriers until November 15, 2020. The waiver covers both licence and decal requirements. Learn more...

On September 17, 2020, Premier John Horgan and Minister of Finance Carole James released a COVID-19 economic recovery plan for British Columbia. “Stronger BC for Everyone: BC’s Economic Recovery Plan” is a wide-ranging proposal designed to help the province recover from the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more...

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) continues to support Canadians during the pandemic by extending payment due dates for 2019 or 2020 corporation and trust returns and for 2019 individual tax returns and, including installment payments, from September 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Learn more...

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently updated it’s “FAQ – Deferral of GST/HST Tax Remittances: CRA and COVID-19” web page, to communicate that, effective July 6, 2020, businesses will be able to use a new electronic service to submit GST/HST documents with electronic signatures appended. This new temporary service will be available during the COVID-19 pandemic and may be accessed via a link on the My Business Account (MyBA) main web page of the GST/HST program account menu. Read more...

The Manitoba government has announced that the filing deadlines for Retail Sales Tax (RST) and the Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax Levy (HE Levy) will be extended further for small and medium-sized businesses with monthly remittances not exceeding $10,000. Specifically, the April through September filing deadlines have been extended to October 20, 2020 for RST remittances and October 15, 2020 for HE Levy purposes. Read more...

Food and beverage processors are facing increasing pressure to innovate and strengthen their operations, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help businesses thrive and become more resilient, the Canadian government is making strategic investments by the way of grant funding and research and development tax credits. Ryan is keeping a close watch on this multipronged approach to strengthen the agri-food sector for future success. Read the full article.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) in Ontario has announced that the deadline to file a Request for Reconsideration (RfR) for 2020 property tax assessments has been extended until September 28, 2020. The deadline had previously been extended from March 31 until 15 days after the end of the state of emergency declaration in Ontario. However, MPAC recently decided to fix the extended due date. Read more...

The Manitoba government has revised Information Notice RST 20-03, “Government Extends Tax Deadlines” to extend the retail sales tax (RST) return filing deadline for June for small and medium-sized businesses with monthly remittances not exceeding $10,000 to July 20, 2020. The April and May RST filing deadlines for small and medium-sized businesses, previously due June 22, 2020, have also been extended to July 20, 2020. Read more...

On May 21, 2020, the Province of Alberta released a “Special Notice Vol. 7 No. 10, Tourism Levy Abatement and Deferral”, which announces that tourism levy amounts collected between March 1 and December 31, 2020 can be kept by hotels and other lodging providers. Interest and fines will not accrue during this period for any failure to remit the tourism levy. Read more...

British Columbia has issued Provincial Sales Tax Notice 2020-003, “Multijurisdictional Vehicles – COVID-19 Update”, which describes temporary measures introduced by the province to provide relief to operators of multijurisdictional vehicles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more...

On June 17, 2020, Minister of Finance and Chair of Treasury Board, Darlene Compton, presented the 2020 Prince Edward Island budget, revealing a deficit of $172.7 million. The minister noted the deficit is a result of the economic shock created by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the increased expenditures required to recover from it. This year’s budget includes spending increases for health care, education, charities, housing, agriculture, environment, and support for the vulnerable. Read more...

On June 15, 2020, Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer presented the Saskatchewan Budget 2020-21. This year’s budget announcement noted that the financial plan further supports the Saskatchewan Estimates 2020-21 released on March 18, 2020.

The budget release highlighted that the forecast deficit for 2020-21 is $2.4 billion as a result of expected revenue shortfalls created by the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp decline in oil prices. Read more...

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released a “Collections, audit, objections, and appeals: CRA and COVID-19” webpage to clarify the impact of COVID-19 on protocols and procedures related to audit work, as well as deadline extensions for collections, objections, and appeals. Read more...

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has issued news release NR2020/06/08, “Public Advisory: Further Extension of Tax Return Filing Deadlines,” which indicates the province is extending the tax return filing deadlines for an additional two-month period with tax returns and remittances for the February to June 2020 reporting periods now being due on August 20, 2020. Read more...

Manitoba recently issued Information Notice TAMTA 20-05, Tax Exemption for Status Indians and Indian Bands, Temporary Waiver Of Signature Requirement, which indicates the province will temporarily waive the requirement for sellers to obtain a signature when a Status Indian, Indian Band, or authorized Band representative purchases and takes possession of goods on a reserve. This waiver is made because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is valid up to June 30, 2020.

While a signature is not required to support a tax-exempt sale to a Status Indian, Indian Band, or authorized Band representative, no other changes have been made to the process and documents required to support a tax-exempt sale to a Status Indian or Indian Band.

To help cushion the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued a News Release, “The CRA has extended filing deadlines for corporations and trusts.” This release extends the deadline for businesses and trusts to file their T2 corporation income tax returns and T3 trust income tax returns becoming due in June, July, and August 2020 to September 1, 2020. The CRA had previously communicated that income tax returns due after March 18, 2020 (March 30, 2020 for trusts) and before May 31, 2020 were to be filed by June 1, 2020 and income tax (corporate and trust) remittances related to these return filings are due on September 1, 2020.

The Government of Canada implemented the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) during March and April of 2020. The CEWS is intended to help employers of all sizes from every industry—and their employees—through the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. For eligible employers, up to 75% of employee wages and salaries will be subsidized to a maximum of $847 per week per employee. Read more...

On May 6, 2020, Finance Minister, Bill Morneau issued a news release, “Government provides tariff relief to importers of certain medical goods,” which announces that the importation of personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g., masks and gloves) and other critical medical equipment will not be subject to tariffs.  This tariff waiver is part of the government’s efforts to ensure that Canadians have access to PPE and other essential medical equipment and will remain in place until the COVID-19 crisis diminishes. This measure is intended to help protect workers, guarantee a well-functioning supply chain for these items, and may lower the cost of imported PPEs, since tariffs as high as 18% can be levied on these goods.

The Government of Canada has released further details on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The CEWS is intended to help employers of all sizes and from every industry—and their employees—through the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. For eligible employers, up to 75% of employee wages and salaries will be subsidized for a period of 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020. However, the subsidy is only available to organizations that experience a decrease in revenue of 15% for the period between March 15 and April 11, and 30% in the two subsequent periods. Read More...

Prior to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the Government of Canada announced the Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers, which is a three-month subsidy allowing eligible employers to reduce their payroll deduction remittances to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Read more...

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was introduced to help businesses and their employees through the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and received Royal Assent on April 11, 2020. The subsidy, equal to 75% of an eligible employer’s wages and salaries for a period of 12 weeks starting on March 15, 2020, was designed to help a broad group of private sector employers of all sizes and from various industries.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has now released a CEWS calculator to aid employers with their application for CEWS. This calculator will lead an employer through a process to determine if they are an eligible employer, their eligible employees, the subsidy amount they are entitled to, and how to apply for the subsidy. The CEWS calculator may be accessed on the CRA website at: Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Calculator

Manitoba has announced in Information Notice Fuel 20-04, “International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) – Extension of IFTA 1st Quarter 2020 Tax Return Due Date”, that it is extending the deadline for filing IFTA returns for the first quarter of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

IFTA returns that would ordinarily have been due April 30, 2020 will now become due on July 31, 2020. However, where organizations have outstanding debts prior to the April deadline, interest will continue to accrue on those amounts.

Alberta has announced in International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) Special Notice Vol. 10 No. 4, “Extension of Quarterly Tax Return Filing Deadline”, that interjurisdictional carriers will be granted an additional two months to file their IFTA first quarter 2020 returns.  Returns previously due on April 30, 2020 will become due on June 30, 2020.  Therefore, no penalty will accrue for late returns for the first quarter where the returns are submitted on or before the revised due date.

Although additional time is granted for filing the first quarter 2020 IFTA Quarterly Tax Return, no changes have been made to the due date for related payments. Organizations may need to make an estimated payment to avoid interest accruing on any fuel tax payable for January–March 2020.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently revised Customs Notice 20-08, “Imported Goods for Emergency Use in Response to COVID-19” to provide guidance on the relief of duties and taxes for goods imported for emergency use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more...

On March 26, 2020, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced that, due to financial challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the province will defer the implementation of key sales tax measures announced in its 2020 budget. The provincial sales tax (PST) rate reduction from 7% to 6%, the introduction of a provincial green levy equal to a flat rate of $25 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and a planned tobacco tax rate increase – all previously scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2020 – have been deferred until further notice.

Further information about these sales tax changes is available in Manitoba Information Bulletin No. 120, “Taxation Changes – 2020 Budget”.

Alberta recently announced a deferral of tourism levy payments collected under the Tourism Levy Act in Special Notice Volume 7 Number 9, Deferral of Tourism Levy Remittances.  Providers of temporary accommodation in Alberta may defer making tourism levy payments that become due between March 27, 2020, and August 31, 2020, with these amounts now being due on August 31, 2020.

Temporary accommodation providers must file all tourism levy returns as required during this period. However, interest that would otherwise have accrued to amounts becoming due during the period where the payment is deferred will not be levied.

However, where payments related to amounts that become due during the period have already been made, the temporary deferral will not apply.

As Canadian governments at all levels continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, many real estate sectors are experiencing the financial impact of temporary closures.  As the single largest expense component of rent for tenants and largest fixed operating cost for business owners, property tax is an area that can be mitigated during this time of crisis to provide much needed financial relief. Read more...

On March 31, 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) released a set of 11 FAQs to clarify certain elements of the GST/HST remittance deferral relief announced on March 27, 2020 (and discussed in Ryan Tax Alert | Further Federal COVID-19 Relief Measures). Read more...

On March 27, 2020, the Government of Canada announced additional relief to support Canadian business during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The added measures provide for extended tax reporting and remittance deadlines, deferred payment of customs duties, and significant adjustments to the government’s current administrative policies to help taxpayers meet their obligations.  This supplemental assistance, which includes further economic initiatives for small and medium businesses, builds on the extensive COVID-19 related support measures previously announced. Read more...

On March 25, 2020, the Ontario government released a one-year economic and fiscal plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The province’s plan focuses on responding to the ongoing pandemic in a manner that protects the health of residents and the economy of Ontario. Read more...

Following the Government of Canada’s announcement of its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan on March 18, 2020, several provinces and territories have announced tax relief measures in relation to the pandemic.  Below you will find Ryan’s analysis of significant initiatives recently announced by British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. Read more...

On March 18, 2020, the Government of Canada announced its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Under this plan, a commitment was made to provide roughly $27 billion in monetary support to all Canadians. A number of these commitments apply to Canadian workers, while others focus on helping Canadian businesses deal with the economic implications of the Coronavirus pandemic. To date, Québec and Saskatchewan have also announced specific COVID-19 related tax relief measures, with announcements by other provincial jurisdictions expected in the coming days. Read more...

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released the notice Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Charities Directorate with details on filing deadline extensions for charities.  Charities with a T3010, “Registered Charity Information Return” due between March 18, 2020 and December 31, 2020, will have their filing deadline extended to December 31, 2020.   The filing extension has been made as part of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.  This extension recognizes that charities will be focusing their resources on assisting Canadians as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and will likely require more time to complete their returns.

The CRA also advises charities to register for the secure online My Business Account service to access new digital services available to them while the Charities Directorate’s operations are suspended.