Sell Now! (How The 2014 Budget May Impact Business Owners' Exit Strategies)

Although to most of the world the 2014 federal budget ("Budget") may have seemed to be of limited consequence, there are a lot of taxpayers who will be significantly impacted by its content. For example, business owner's exit strategies may become much less tax effective if the proposed changes to the taxation of eligible capital property ("ECP") are enacted. In this regard, while at first glance, a move from the current ECP regime ("Current Regime") to co-ordinate it with the existing capital cost allowance regime seems completely logical and relatively innocuous, it is the change to how ECP is taxed upon its disposition that should cause owner-managers who may be considering selling their businesses to start thinking about selling a lot more seriously.