Budget better for small business, federation says

Erin McGrath-Gaudet says Prince Edward Island’s 2018-19 operating budget shows government is listening to small business.

“A lot of business owners have spent years struggling,” said McGrath-Gaudet, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) director for PEI and intergovernmental policy.

The provincial government’s recent budget will generate savings for the Island’s small businesses including:

• a small-business tax cut that will save individual businesses up to $2,500 a year;
• a small business investment grant will give companies a 15 per cent rebate on their business investments up to $25,000, saving them up to $3,750 each year; and
• an increase to the Basic Personal Exemption of $1,000 over two years will put more money back into the pockets of Islanders, meaning 1,200 Islanders will no longer pay any provincial income tax;

“The half percentage point tax rate reduction gives a lot of confidence to small businesses so they can explore growth and reinvest in their business,” McGrath-Gaudet said.

She said the CFIB is closely watching the business investment grant.

“It’s encouraging that there will be small pots of money available to upgrade equipment, be more productive and get a little rebate. I see that program as something very positive. We are hoping we have really good uptake on that program and it’s kept administratively simple.”

She was also pleased to see the bump in the basic personal exemption to provincial income tax.

“I definitely see these as positive indications,” Erin said. “Obviously we would like to see tax rate down at least to the Atlantic average, but these changes show this government is listening and taking action – we hope to see that work continue into the future.”