Truro & Colchester Chamber of Commerce Receives Accreditation

TRURO – The Truro & Colchester Chamber of Commerce has been accredited for a period of three years by the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada (CACC).

The organization now joins a group of elite chambers of commerce in Canada demonstrating to the business community the Chamber is run in a strategic and professional way with the operations reflecting national standards of business excellence.

“The Truro and Colchester Chamber of Commerce is proud to receive accreditation, a formal acknowledgement that it has been successfully evaluated by the CACC against rigorous national standards of policy, service and performance,” said Alex Stevenson, president. “The accreditation is reflective of the excellent work delivered by the Chamber Board and its staff.  Special congratulations are in order for our Executive Director, Sherry Martell for her leadership on this file.”

The national accreditation program is designed to recognize chambers that satisfy a set of high standards and practices.

The Truro-based Chamber represents about 420 members across Colchester County and beyond. It has served as the principle voice of business in the region for 127 years on topics of political, economic and social importance.

Adding to the satisfaction of this achievement is The Truro & Colchester Chamber of Commerce was one of just two chambers across Canada to test a new online-submission accreditation pilot program.

“Our Chamber was pleased to be a pioneer of a new pilot process for accreditation that reduces the handling of materials, creates efficiencies and enhances the outcome of the program,” said Stevenson.

The rigorous accreditation process ensures its membership that the chamber has a strategic focus on core chamber activities, uniform practices and policies across the network, dependable governance procedures, distinctive brand identity, a stronger “voice of business” in the community and an increased role in national and international policy advocacy.

The local Chamber will be officially recognized for achieving accreditation at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in Fredericton, N.B., in September.

For more information about the Truro and Colchester chamber contact the office at 902-895-6328 or email [email protected] .


Policy Alert: Finance Canada Is Considering Major Changes to How Corporations Are Taxed

The Department of Finance Canada is considering major changes to how corporations are taxed. The proposed rules could have a significant impact on many Canadian businesses: potentially raising taxes, increasing the administrative burden on SMEs and heightening the impact on family-run businesses.  On July 18, Finance Canada launched a consultation on how “tax-planning strategies involving corporations are being used to gain unfair tax advantages.” The document contains proposed policies to close these “loopholes.” There are four key changes that will affect business:

  1. Sprinkling income using private corporations: The government wants to tighten rules to prevent a business owner from unfairly transferring income to family members who are subject to lower personal tax rates. In certain circumstances, owners would have to demonstrate that wages and dividend payments are “reasonable.”
  2. Multiplying the Capital Gains Exemption: When an individual sells a small business, the first $850,000 of capital gain is exempt from taxes. The government wants to prevent tax planning structures that enable multiple family members to use their exemptions.
  3. Reducing the tax deferral advantage on portfolio investment inside a corporation: Currently, an owner can accumulate portfolio earnings inside a corporation and pay corporate income tax rates (which are generally much lower than personal rates). The owner defers paying personal income or dividend taxes until the money is taken out of the business. The government is considering alternatives that would reduce this tax advantage.
  4. Converting a private corporation’s regular income into capital gains: Income is normally paid out of a private corporation in the form of salary or dividends that are taxed at the owner’s personal income tax rate. In contrast, when a business is sold, it is taxed as a capital gain, where only one-half of capital gains are included in income, resulting in a significantly lower tax rate on income that is converted from dividends to capital gains. The government wants to tighten the rules to prevent certain tax planning structures, but it is open to more favourable treatment for genuine family business transfers.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and its Taxation Committee are currently studying how the proposed changes will affect members in different industries, in family businesses and those with different ownership structures. We will be submitting recommendations to Finance Canada.    Should you wish to participate or provide input, please email Hendrik Brakel. In particular, we are looking for detailed examples and cases of how a specific small business will be affected by the changes. We feel concrete examples will be most effective in making our case for easing the changes. We would ask that you send them to us by August 11.  Click here to view the consultation documents released by Finance Canada.