Saskatchewan tax credits changing for 2011 • Manitoba tax credits changing for 2011 • Ontario passes mandatory retirement for firefighters • N.L. budget raises exemption threshold on payroll tax • New Brunswick tax rate changing • New Brunswick tax credits changing for 2011 • Nova Scotia tax credits changing • Nova Scotia minimum wage going up • Prince Edward Island minimum wage increase
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan tax credits changing for 2011
The March 23 provincial budget proposed increasing non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Saskatchewan TD1 for 2011. The increases would be implemented July 1. The budget proposes to raise the basic personal amount and the maximum claim amount for the spouse or common law partner and eligible dependent tax credits from $13,535 to $14,535. It would also increase the Child Amount from $5,014 to $5,514. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1SK, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Manitoba
Manitoba tax credits changing for 2011
The April 12 provincial budget proposes to increase three of the non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Manitoba TD1, over four years, beginning with 2011. The basic personal amount and the maximum claim amount for the spouse or common law partner and eligible dependent tax credits would increase from $8,134 to $8,384 in 2011, $8,634 in 2012, $8,884 in 2013 and $9,134 in 2014. The 2011 change would be implemented July 1, 2011. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1MB, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Ontario
Ontario passes mandatory retirement for firefighters
Firefighters in Ontario will hang up their helmets for good at age 60 under a new law. The province passed changes to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act on May 31 that standardize the retirement age for salaried firefighters involved in frontline firefighting duties. The average retirement age for a firefighter in Ontario is 57, and most municipalities already specify a mandatory retirement age in their collective agreements, the province said. The new law gives municipalities without mandatory retirement at age 60 two years to negotiate new retirement provisions. The legislation also allows firefighters who believe their local association is not representing them fairly to take their complaints to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which is common practice with most other unions, according to the province. Fred LeBlanc, president of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, hailed the legislation — which passed unanimously with all-party support — as a victory for firefighters.
Newfoundland and Labrador
N.L. budget raises exemption threshold on payroll tax
Newfoundland and Labrador is raising the threshold on payroll tax exemptions from $1 million to $1.2 million, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011. Finance Minister Tom Marshall announced the changes in the province’s 2011 budget. Raising the threshold will remove 90 businesses from the tax rolls and reduce taxes for 845 others. It will put $2.3 million in the hands of employers, he said. Prior to the budget, the St. John’s Board of Trade advocated for the elimination of the tax, saying it decreased motivation for hiring. Marshall said eliminating the tax would cost the government $63 million, according to a report in The Telegram.
New Brunswick
Tax rate changing
Effective July 1, 2011, the tax rate for the top tax bracket is proposed to rise from 12.7 per cent to 14.3 per cent for 2011 in New Brunswick. The government put forward the proposal in its March 22, 2011, provincial budget. For source deduction purposes, the tax rate would be 15.9 per cent from July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. The Canada Revenue Agency has revised its tax tables and formulas to incorporate the change. The rates for the other tax brackets will remain unchanged. For more information on proposals put forward in the budget, see the New Brunswick Budget Bulletin in the Budget Bulletins section.
Minimum wage going up
New Brunswick will be hiking its minimum wage effective Sept. 1 when the rate will increase from $9.50 per hour to $10. The minimum wage rate for employees whose hours of work per week are unverifiable and who are not strictly employed on a commission basis will rise from $418 per week to $440 on September 1.
Nova Scotia
Tax credits changing for 2011
The April 5 provincial budget proposed increasing non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Nova Scotia TD1 for 2011. The increases would be implemented July 1, 2011. The budget proposes to raise the basic personal amount from $8,231 to $8,481 for 2011. Other amounts would increase proportionately. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1NS, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Minimum wage going up
Nova Scotia is raising its minimum wage 3.6 per cent on Oct. 1. The rate will rise from $9.65 per hour to $10 per hour. The rate for inexperienced worker — those with less than three months experience in the work they were hired for — will rise from $9.15 to $9.50.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island minimum wage increase
Prince Edward Island’s minimum wage increased 30 cents an hour on June 1, from $9 an hour to $9.30. The rate hike is the first of three planned over the next year. On Oct. 1, the minimum wage will go up again to $9.60 and on April 1, 2012, there will be another increase to $10 an hour.
Saskatchewan tax credits changing for 2011
The March 23 provincial budget proposed increasing non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Saskatchewan TD1 for 2011. The increases would be implemented July 1. The budget proposes to raise the basic personal amount and the maximum claim amount for the spouse or common law partner and eligible dependent tax credits from $13,535 to $14,535. It would also increase the Child Amount from $5,014 to $5,514. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1SK, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Manitoba
Manitoba tax credits changing for 2011
The April 12 provincial budget proposes to increase three of the non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Manitoba TD1, over four years, beginning with 2011. The basic personal amount and the maximum claim amount for the spouse or common law partner and eligible dependent tax credits would increase from $8,134 to $8,384 in 2011, $8,634 in 2012, $8,884 in 2013 and $9,134 in 2014. The 2011 change would be implemented July 1, 2011. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1MB, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Ontario
Ontario passes mandatory retirement for firefighters
Firefighters in Ontario will hang up their helmets for good at age 60 under a new law. The province passed changes to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act on May 31 that standardize the retirement age for salaried firefighters involved in frontline firefighting duties. The average retirement age for a firefighter in Ontario is 57, and most municipalities already specify a mandatory retirement age in their collective agreements, the province said. The new law gives municipalities without mandatory retirement at age 60 two years to negotiate new retirement provisions. The legislation also allows firefighters who believe their local association is not representing them fairly to take their complaints to the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which is common practice with most other unions, according to the province. Fred LeBlanc, president of the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, hailed the legislation — which passed unanimously with all-party support — as a victory for firefighters.
Newfoundland and Labrador
N.L. budget raises exemption threshold on payroll tax
Newfoundland and Labrador is raising the threshold on payroll tax exemptions from $1 million to $1.2 million, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011. Finance Minister Tom Marshall announced the changes in the province’s 2011 budget. Raising the threshold will remove 90 businesses from the tax rolls and reduce taxes for 845 others. It will put $2.3 million in the hands of employers, he said. Prior to the budget, the St. John’s Board of Trade advocated for the elimination of the tax, saying it decreased motivation for hiring. Marshall said eliminating the tax would cost the government $63 million, according to a report in The Telegram.
New Brunswick
Tax rate changing
Effective July 1, 2011, the tax rate for the top tax bracket is proposed to rise from 12.7 per cent to 14.3 per cent for 2011 in New Brunswick. The government put forward the proposal in its March 22, 2011, provincial budget. For source deduction purposes, the tax rate would be 15.9 per cent from July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. The Canada Revenue Agency has revised its tax tables and formulas to incorporate the change. The rates for the other tax brackets will remain unchanged. For more information on proposals put forward in the budget, see the New Brunswick Budget Bulletin in the Budget Bulletins section.
Minimum wage going up
New Brunswick will be hiking its minimum wage effective Sept. 1 when the rate will increase from $9.50 per hour to $10. The minimum wage rate for employees whose hours of work per week are unverifiable and who are not strictly employed on a commission basis will rise from $418 per week to $440 on September 1.
Nova Scotia
Tax credits changing for 2011
The April 5 provincial budget proposed increasing non-refundable tax credits claimed on a Nova Scotia TD1 for 2011. The increases would be implemented July 1, 2011. The budget proposes to raise the basic personal amount from $8,231 to $8,481 for 2011. Other amounts would increase proportionately. The Canada Revenue Agency is revising the TD1NS, Personal Tax Credits Return, to incorporate the proposed changes.
Minimum wage going up
Nova Scotia is raising its minimum wage 3.6 per cent on Oct. 1. The rate will rise from $9.65 per hour to $10 per hour. The rate for inexperienced worker — those with less than three months experience in the work they were hired for — will rise from $9.15 to $9.50.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island minimum wage increase
Prince Edward Island’s minimum wage increased 30 cents an hour on June 1, from $9 an hour to $9.30. The rate hike is the first of three planned over the next year. On Oct. 1, the minimum wage will go up again to $9.60 and on April 1, 2012, there will be another increase to $10 an hour.
