The Grant Thornton International IFRS team has published three Insights into IFRS 3:

• Identifying a business combination within the scope of IFRS 3;
• Identifying the acquirer;
• Identifying the acquisition date.

Mergers and acquisitions (business combinations) can have a fundamental impact on the acquirer’s operations, resources and strategies. For most entities, such transactions are infrequent and each is unique. IFRS 3 Business Combinations contains the requirements for these transactions, which are challenging in practice. The standard itself has been in place for more than ten years now and has undergone a post-implementation review by the IASB. It is one of the most referred to standards currently issued.

The Insights into IFRS 3 series summarizes the key areas of the standard, highlighting aspects that are more difficult to interpret and revisiting the most relevant features that could impact your business.

After issuing Insights into IFRS 3 – The acquisition method at a glance, the Grant Thornton International IFRS team released three Insights into IFRS 3 which set out the steps when identifying whether business combinations are within the scope of IFRS 3, identifying the acquirer and identifying the date of the business combination in accordance with IFRS 3.

Updated on February 11, 2022

Your business could benefit from tax measures, such as SR&ED tax credits, for its innovation projects. Do you know all of these measures?

Any organisation, whatever its industry, that is involved in manufacturing and processing or that has technological innovation projects may qualify for specific tax incentives.

These credits are not exclusively for plants, factories or manufactures. For example, under the Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program, the government encourages organisations of all sizes and in all industries to put innovative research and development ideas into application.

Tax measures: keep an eye on deadlines

Your activities or projects may be eligible for some of these measures. However, there are deadlines to respect in order to claim these tax incentives or modify previous years’ tax returns if the measures have not all been claimed.

Here are the key points that every organisation should know in order to maximize its tax position in terms of its manufacturing and processing activities or innovation investments, regardless of the industry.

Additional deduction for a manufacturing SME’s transportation costs

A business only needs to carry out a certain proportion of manufacturing and processing activities to benefit from this additional deduction. Furthermore, it does not have to incur transportation or delivery expenses to take advantage of it.

Investment and innovation tax credit

Certain assets acquired for use in manufacturing and processing activities are eligible for a provincial investment tax credit, a tax subsidy that reduces the acquisition cost of these assets.

At the provincial level, the rate of this tax credit may vary depending on the RCM where the asset is used. The 2021-2022 Québec budget has enhanced this credit by doubling the rates for investments made until December 31, 2022.

At the federal level, there is a similar investment tax credit and the only eligible regions in Québec are the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

Accelerated and additional capital cost allowance

Certain assets acquired for use in manufacturing and processing activities qualify for a total capital cost allowance. For Quebec purposes, these assets also qualify for an additional 30% capital cost allowance in the following year.

Tax credit to support employment in Québec’s maritime regions

An enterprise that has certain manufacturing and processing activities in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine regions may benefit from a tax credit on the salary paid to certain employees, that is, a subsidy that reduces the payroll cost.

Reduced employer contribution

Enterprises in the manufacturing sector may be entitled to a reduced Health Services Fund (HSF) contribution rate.

Scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED)

A business that carries out manufacturing and processing activities is included in the main industries that are likely to be able to use these tax incentives.

Businesses that are searching for knowledge or know-how to create new materials, devices, products or processes or improve existing ones or are looking for new scientific or technological knowledge may be entitled to SR&ED tax incentives.

The two main benefits of SR&ED tax incentives are:

1. Possibility of deducting your SR&ED expenses over several years;
2. Obtaining the investment tax credit (ITC) for SR&ED and using it to reduce your income tax payable (in some cases, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) may refund remaining ITCs).

Are you taking full advantage of the special tax features of your manufacturing and processing activities and innovation projects? Our team of tax experts can help you make the most of them. Don’t hesitate to call on them; they have mastered the complex tax provisions in this field. Their strategic location also means they are aware of regional characteristics.

Your success is important to us. We make our knowledge and expertise available for your business.

Prepared in the context of a health crisis, the Legault government’s third budget focuses on three priorities: health, education and the economy.

As the Quebec government expected in the fall of 2020, the 2020-2021 deficit remains at $15B. After using the stabilization reserve, the current year’s deficit is $6.2B. For the next two years, the deficits are estimated to be $12.3B (2021-2022) and $8.5B (2022-2023), with the objective of balancing the budget in seven years, at the end of the 2027-2028 fiscal year. Since the deficits will continue for more than five years, the Balance Budget Act must be temporarily updated.

The underlying objective of those budget announcements is to avoid increasing taxes (individuals and corporations) and cutting back on public services. From an economic perspective, there are several noteworthy measures, including the three tax measures below.

Enhancing the investment and innovation tax credit (C3i)

In order to encourage businesses to accelerate their new technology investment projects, the government is announcing that the C3i rates will be doubled for a two-year period, that is, to December 31, 2022. That means the rates will go:

• from 10% to 20% for investments in the Montréal and Québec City metropolitan communities;
• from 20% to 40% for investments in territories where economic vitality is low;
• from 15% to 30% for investments in other territories or regions.

That temporary increase, which will cost close to $290M over five years, will help more than 10,000 businesses complete their investment projects more quickly.

Reducing the tax rate for SMEs

In the 2021-2022 budget, the government is announcing a reduction of the tax rate for all SMEs eligible for the small business deduction (SBD) from 4.0% to 3.2%, the same level as Ontario, starting March 26, 2021.

Improving the tax credit for on-the-job training

This five-year, $14.1M measure, combined with other measures to help young Quebecers integrate the job market, is part of initiatives totalling almost $97M, including $31.4M in 2022-2023, to support young people who are neither in studies, employment or training, in their integration into the labour market.

Other Measures

In terms of economic support, the 2021-2031 Quebec Infrastructures Plan (QIP) will be increased by $4.5B to $135B, together with a 60% increase in investments in the next five years, providing a powerful driver of economic vitality. The budget is also adding $404M over five years to support the requalification of workers and the integration of immigrants into the labour market. Additional support is being provided for culture and tourism with $392M and $204M respectively in new funds over five years. Furthermore, an additional envelope of $523M and $218M is being provided for economic development in the regions and innovation, respectively.

For more information on the tax measures announced in the 2021-2022 budget, please download our document.