Archive for November, 2008

Thanks to funding provided by the Government of Ontario, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) has created the SMART Program to help small and medium-sized manufacturers in Ontario improve their productivity so they can compete more effectively in the global economy.

The program awards 50% funding for a project up to $50,000 for productivity improvements such as lean design, lean manufacturing, quality improvement, energy efficiency, IT best practices, and environmental impact reduction.

It will now be easier for small businesses to file for SR&ED!

In 2007, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) consulted with Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) claimants, members of the Action Task Force on Small Business Issues, and internal stakeholders. Based on these consultaitons, a new T661 form was devised in order to streamline the SR&ED filing process.

The new T661 was released on November the 10th:

• New T661 Form
• Guidelines for New T661 Form
• Q&A About New T661 Form

During tough economic times, companies need to take advantage of internal sources of financing in order to survive. One source of financing, which few companies are aware of, are the tax credits you can receive from the federal government for R&D work conducted in the past 2 fiscal years.  The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SRED) tax credit  can generate a return of up to 35 percent of your expenditure base.

The CRA has recently developed a SR&ED Small Business action plan which contains four distinct objectives:

1. Ensuring public awareness of the SR&ED program and services
2. Making our SR&ED publications easier to understand
3. Improving accessibility to the SR&ED pages on the CRA Web site
4. Introducing a simplified SR&ED claim form and an eligibility self-assessment tool

In fall of 2008, the following will be released:

• Distribution of a 1-page outline of the SR&ED program
• A SR&ED CD-ROM will be released.
• A new brochure will be released.
• A simplified T4088 Guide to the T661 will be released.
• A clear format for submitting technical narratives will be incorporated into the new simplified SR&ED claim form.

Please go to the CRA‘s website for further detail about these proposed changes to the SR&ED program.