Here’s a look at some of the key programs for funding support
After decades of research and development, production-strength inkjet devices are finally ready for commercial use. However, that doesn’t mean that when you adapt this technology into your shop you won’t still face some surprises. Just in time to help you upgrade your shop and employee skill levels, many provinces have upped their support for research and development, venture capital funding, and training support.
Provincial budgets have always targeted incentivizing specific business sectors with grants and tax credits to stimulate those sectors or to encourage industries to set up shop or expand in that province. Let’s look at provinces with new or improved funding support to help you implement inkjet technology into your shop.
Manitoba: Invest here please and bring the infants
If you are thinking of starting a new print shop or seeking venture capital financing, Manitoba has increased the Small Business Venture Capital Tax Credit in two significant ways. First, the $15 million revenue cap has been eliminated and, second, the minimum investment has been lowered from $20,000 to $10,000.
Worth mentioning, but not related to implementing new technology, Manitoba has also introduced a new refundable tax credit, The Child Care Centre Development Tax Credit targeting private corporations that are not engaged primarily in child care services, and who create new child care centres before 2021 to the amount of $10,000 (claimed over five years) for each new infant or preschool space.
Ontario: R&D funding increases
There’s good news if you need to innovate to get your inkjet technology to do what you need to achieve — the Ontario Innovation Tax Credit has been raised to 12%. Likewise, the Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit has increased to 5.5%. To state this in financial terms, if you are a Canadian-controlled private corporation and invest the equivalent of one staff-year of labour, spread over a supervisor and two operators, with an average combined salary of $65,000, you can expect a combined provincial and federal tax credit of more than $46,700, up almost $4,000 with the new budget.
Quebec: Employee training encouragement
Quebec has proposed some new training funds that could help you implement and perfect your new inkjet technology. Quebec’s Budget 2018 makes it even more attractive to improve employee skill levels, both with on-the-job training and educational institution programs. Quebec has increased its refundable tax credit to 32% for trainees enrolled in an education program. Further, the weekly limit per employee has been raised to $875 per week for eligible trainees who are enrolled in a prescribed program with an increase in hourly rates up to $21 for eligible trainees and $35 per hour for eligible supervisors.
For employees of small- to medium-sized business, whose payroll does not exceed $7 million, Quebec has introduced a new refundable tax credit. This credit will provide refundable tax assistance of up to $5,460 per year per eligible employee who participates in an eligible training program.
Another new refundable tax credit up to $7 million annually will be available to companies in respect to expenditures incurred for the purpose of the digital transformation of their print media activities. This tax credit requires your company to get certification from Investissement Québec confirming that you produced and broadcasted print or digital information containing original written content.
Other provinces have focused their new incentive tax credits to other industry sectors, or activities. Nevertheless, existing funding opportunities, such as research and development through both the Industrial Research Assistance Program and Scientific Research and Experimental Development program remain in place in all provinces.
How to get funding
Each funding opportunity requires a slightly different approach. In some cases, funds are granted after the criteria are met, while in other cases, funds are awarded based upon a pre-approval requirement which most often means that you cannot begin a project, expecting government funding, unless you first obtained approval to start. In all cases, you must ensure that you meet the funding requirements and have the proper record keeping in order to demonstrate expenditures incurred.
Our federal and provincial governments provide over $5 billion per year to support businesses to succeed. Make sure you are getting your share. Your competitor probably is.