March 11th, 2021

Protecting future generations: Innovative tax solutions to reduce public debt levels exacerbated by the pandemic.

Dealing with the pandemic took an extraordinary toll on public finances. Taxpayers are already overburdened with numerous forms of taxation coming from all levels of government. Transferring the burden to future generations simply is not sustainable. Québec and Canada must put people back to work and create the winning conditions conducive to unlocking our extraordinary natural wealth and full growth potential. It is in this context that, in anticipation of the federal and provincial budgets, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton presents exceptional measures catered to the current equally exceptional times.

The Canadian and Quebec governments introduced several programs helping individuals and businesses get through the pandemic. We salute these measures, which were essential for preventing job loss, bankruptcies and, ultimately, a major economic crisis. However, they have led to substantial deficits—amounting to $400 billion and $15 billion for the governments of Canada and Quebec, respectively—and the numbers are still climbing! Decision makers must take action now to prevent a public finance crisis and protect future generations from having to carry a burden that would take decades to pay off.

In Quebec, we have the economic potential to bounce back stronger than most other countries. We have an educated and bilingual population, creative entrepreneurs and an abundance of natural resources and renewable energy. Vaccines will allow us to regain our freedom and reopen the economy. We can expect a flurry of activity when the public’s pent-up demand is unleashed. We’re all looking forward to going out, eating in restaurants, travelling, shopping, and interacting in a real world instead of a virtual one. The pandemic will nevertheless leave a legacy of extraordinary debt in its wake and our firm proposes innovative solutions to tackle the problem.

First, we recommend that the governments present two separate budgets: the first covering regular operations and the other covering pandemic-specific spending. In addition, our tax specialists have drawn up creative strategies to increase revenue inflows to reduce pandemic-related debt. Specifically, they’ve been looking at ways to incentivize taxpayers to accelerate taxes that would otherwise be owed later. These proposed measures include:

• For a period of 24 months:
  • Allow taxpayers to withdraw funds from their RRSPs at a combined tax rate of 15%.
  • Allow taxpayers to pay capital gains tax on assets (shares, income-producing properties, etc.) at a combined tax rate of 15%.
  • Allow Canadian taxpayers to withdraw funds from their holding corporations and pay a combined tax rate of 20% on dividends.
  • Allow corporations to increase their capital dividend account to 30% of expenses incurred on initiatives that benefit the health of their employees. By promoting better lifestyle habits, this investment from the private sector will ultimately lower healthcare spending. Corporations could therefore pay their shareholders tax-free dividends amounting to 30% of these eligible expenses.

We also believe this is a good time to reopen immigrant investor programs as this would increase foreign investment in Quebec and contribute to our economic recovery.

These bold measures are worth considering. Intergenerational equity and the stability of public spending are at stake. The federal and provincial governments have the opportunity to generate additional cash inflows without raising taxes. By reducing pandemic-related debt, we could balance the budget more quickly and reduce the burden on future generations.

This letter was written by Emilio B. Imbriglio, the firm’s president and CEO from 2013 to 2021.

Among mid-sized companies in Canada and globally, there is a positive outlook regarding 2021, according to Grant Thornton’s latest Global business pulse index.

Results reveal that Canadian mid-market businesses are relatively confident about the recovery of business performance over the next year.

One year ago, Canadian businesses from coast to coast were shut down to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Over the last year, we saw businesses struggle, many were forced to permanently close, others tried to reinvent themselves by investing in new technologies and changing their business model. Yet, in the midst of all this, half of Canadian mid-market businesses are optimistic about the recovery of future business performance as stated in Grant Thornton’s latest Global business pulse.

“Canada proved its resilience and ability to innovate during the pandemic by implementing various measures to support Canadian businesses. Canada is renowned as an open-minded, politically stable, culturally diverse country with strong entrepreneurial values and a talented workforce,” states Emilio B. Imbriglio, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton’s President and CEO.

Grant Thornton’s global index findings

Grant Thornton’s global business pulse is the only index to track the business health of mid-market organizations worldwide. The latest index results draw on interviews with 5,000 mid-market business leaders between October and December 2020. This index result provides a timely snapshot of business health amid a challenging environment in which COVID-19 dominates the agenda, vaccines are announced and where businesses look to the year ahead.

Overall, despite rising by more than 6pts. in H2 2020, the global business pulse index score for Canada remained in negative territory with a score of -5. However, the improvement in the headline index was similar to the global aggregate score, which also rose by 6pts. to -4. Although improved, it is still the second-worst result since the index records began a decade ago.

Businesses confidence in strong sustained growth

As the results show, Canadian businesses are notably more optimistic, compared to the end of H1 2020. This rise in optimism is primarily being driven by the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine and its roll-out in the next year. With revenue, profit and export outlooks looking more positive, the index also reveals a decline in economic uncertainty, leading to a more hopeful future and recovery for businesses across Canada.

Additionally, according to the Financial Post, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem also recently released a statement stating that Canada’s economy will see a solid rebound in coming months as COVID-19 restrictions are loosened. An expected ramp-up in vaccination is boosting confidence in sustained strong growth into 2022. As more Canadians are vaccinated, the hardest-hit segments of the service industry will be able to begin resuming operations, resulting in strong job growth.

Rebalancing investment priorities towards more traditional categories

While more hopeful about future growth, Canadian businesses are still acutely aware of the challenges that they still face due to the pandemic. To position themselves for recovery, leaders are reprioritizing their investments as well as updating their long-term visions and plans. As the index suggests, compared to the rest of the world, Canadian businesses increased investments in staff skills and technology, as opposed to more traditional new buildings or plant and machinery.

Our experts attribute this to a number of factors. Many companies had put off investment during the course of the pandemic and are catching up. Others are investing to be ready for the expected uptick. Nonetheless, investing in technologies and strengthening a business plan with a digital transformation strategy is a must to remain competitive nationally and internationally post-COVID. In the past year, many businesses have updated their business strategy and invested in new technologies, which will result in a post-pandemic market that will be very different from the pre-pandemic situation.

Want to know more about developing a digital transformation strategy, consult our Evolution page.

COVID-19 has changed the world on many levels; it shifted the economy and forced businesses to adopt major changes. For some, this may be an opportunity to reinvent themselves and move towards new goals. For others, it may be a little more challenging to picture their business’s future.

Our experts are here to support the relaunch of your activities and help you adapt this new normality.

Grant Thornton’s Global business pulse is the first index to track the health of mid-sized companies at a global, regional, country and sector level. Here is more information on the methodology.

The Grant Thornton International IFRS team has published COVID-19: Hedge Accounting Insights.

There are several accounting considerations the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered in relation to IFRS 9, Financial Instruments. One of the most significant is in relation to hedge accounting and highly probable cash flows. A key criterion relating to cash flow hedges over forecast transactions relates to the requirement for the hedged cash flows to be highly probable.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an entity therefore may need to consider if the hedged cash flows still meet the highly probable assessment.

The publication COVID-19: Hedge Accounting Insights explains the highly probable assessment and what entities should do if the cash flows are no longer highly probable.