Bill 105, or the Supporting Small Businesses Act,
recently passed a second reading after debate in the Ontario
Legislature. The purpose of Bill 105 is to provide relief from the
Employer Health Tax to small businesses, charities and
not-for-profit organizations.
As proposed, starting on January 1, 2014, Bill 105 would
increase the exemption from the Employer Health Tax for private
sector employers from $400,000 to $450,000. This means that 60,000
employers would pay less Employer Health Tax, saving up to $975
annually, while 12,000 employers would no longer pay the tax at
all. Those organizations would also save the cost of filing an
Employer Health Tax return all together.
Bill 105 would also eliminate the current exemption for
employers with over $5 million in payroll. This means that the cost
of exempting smaller businesses from Employer Health Tax would be
offset by having larger employers pay additional tax. Employer
Health Tax raises about $5 billion in
