The Honourable Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of National Revenue, today highlighted the numerous measures the Canada Revenue Agency has launched to help businesses across Canada manage their tax affairs successfully. The Minister made her remarks while participating in a panel discussion on the importance of being financially literate during Startup Canada’s Day on the Hill.

November is Financial Literacy Month, and our Government is proud to support initiatives to help increase Canadians’ financial knowledge. In fact, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has introduced a broad list of initiatives to help entrepreneurs understand and meet their tax obligations at early and ongoing milestones in their business development cycle. Supporting the tax literacy of Canadians results in less red tape and helps entrepreneurs lower their business costs so that they can build and grow resilient and prosperous businesses:

• Through the CRA’s secure online self-service portal, businesses now have access to more than 50 different transactions such as registering for services, making payments, filing returns, making account changes, asking questions, and viewing balances.
• The new Liaison Officer Initiative (LOI) helps entrepreneurs and businesses get it right from the start by providing them with in-person support and guidance at key points in their business cycle. The initiative helps entrepreneurs avoid mistakes that would be costly to correct further down the road, leading to less red tape and lower costs for the business.
• The CRA’s Small Business Checklist, a great resource for someone just starting a business, provides user-friendly information on some of the key tax topics that should be taken into consideration throughout a business’ lifecycle.
• The CRA’s first-ever mobile app, the Business Tax Reminders app, allows small and medium-sized businesses to create custom reminders and alerts for dates related to instalment payments, returns, and remittances;
• Businesses can now sign up for pre-authorized debit (PAD), an online, self-service, payment option. It’s a low-cost payment option for business that is available no matter which financial institution you deal with or the size of your tax payments.

The CRA is committed to reducing red tape and enhancing services to entrepreneurs and business owners, for the benefit of Canada’s economy and the prosperity of all Canadians.