The federal government passed legislation on July 27, 2020,
extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and
significantly broadening its reach. In this guide, we provide a
comprehensive review and analysis of the CEWS program, including
details of the latest updates and key considerations for
businesses.
Background
Earlier this year, Parliament enacted legislation adopting the
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) through amendments to the
Income Tax Act (Canada) (Act). Although the CEWS program
is not tax legislation per se, by implementing the CEWS
through the Act, the government sought to leverage existing income
tax refund mechanisms to distribute the subsidy to employers in a
timely manner and to utilize the broad investigative powers and
penalty provisions of the Act to verify and encourage compliance
with the terms of the program.
