Minister Khera and MP Ali highlight government’s significant new support to help small business owners

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

News release

October 4, 2024               Brampton, Ontario        Employment and Social Development Canada

Canada’s small- and medium-sized businesses keep main streets flourishing across the country, create good-paying jobs, and deliver the dream of entrepreneurship. It is essential that these businesses thrive so they can continue being the bedrock of our communities and our economy.

Today in Brampton, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Kamal Khera, alongside Member of Parliament for Brampton Centre, Shafqat Ali, met with community members of Brampton at the Grey Matlock Bakery to highlight the federal government’s new support to help small- and medium-sized businesses start up, grow, and thrive.

First, the federal government announced the payment amounts for the new Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses, which will deliver over $2.5 billion to about 600,000 Canadian businesses before the end of this year. This refundable tax credit will return a portion of the fuel charge proceeds from 2019-20 through 2023-24 to small businesses, in jurisdictions where the federal fuel charge applies.

In Ontario, the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses will deliver $401 per employee. This means the rebate will deliver up to $4,010 to a business with 10 employees, $20, 050 to a business with 50 employees, and $200,099 to a business with 499 employees.

Eligible businesses that filed their 2023 tax return by July 15, 2024, will receive their payment by:

  • December 16, 2024, if registered for direct deposit from the Canada Revenue Agency; or,
  • December 31, 2024, if receiving payment by cheque.

Second, the federal government announced a revised Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada to protect over 1 million businesses that accept credit card and debit card payments from customers. Starting on October 30, 2024, the revised Code will help businesses compare prices and offers from different payment processors, and shorten the complaint handling response time by nearly 80 per cent to just 20 business days. All major payment card network operators in Canada have agreed to the terms of the revised Code. Certain obligations requiring complex or technical system changes will come into effect by April 30, 2025.

Third, the federal government announced that new, reduced credit card transaction fees for small businesses will take effect on October 19, 2024. More than 90 per cent of small- and medium-sized businesses that accept credit cards will receive lower rates and see interchange fees reduced by up to 27 per cent. These fee reductions are expected to save eligible small businesses about $1 billion over five years. Reduced credit card transaction fees will save small businesses thousands of dollars every year. For example, if a store processes $300,000 in credit card payments, they currently pay nearly $4,000 in annual fees. With these new agreements, the store could save $1,080 in fees every year.

The government is taking action to help businesses start up, grow, and thrive by reducing the costs of running a business. These new supports for business owners build on our government’s lowering of the small business tax rate to 9 per cent—which saves small businesses $6 billion every single year. In Budget 2022, our government lowered small business taxes further by making the 9 per cent federal small business tax rate available to more businesses as they grow, which is saving businesses another $660 million in taxes over 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Quotes

“Small businesses like Grey Matlock Bakery make up the backbone of our economy. By delivering the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses and lowering credit cards fees we are putting thousands of dollars back in the pockets of Canadian businesses. These investments aren’t just growing the economy - they’re making it fairer for Canadians and business owners alike”

Kamal Khera, Minister of Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

“I am proud to be here alongside the one and only, Minister Kamal Khera, representing our community of Brampton – a diverse locale with varying needs. We are here to provide our residents more opportunities to become new entrepreneurs and to help grow existing business ventures. This will create multiple benefits for the community, by bolstering its economy, and by ensuring our people have access to more prosperous jobs.”

Shafqat Ali, Member of Parliament for Brampton Centre 

Quick facts

  • The Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses is a refundable tax credit to return a portion of federal fuel charge proceeds directly to eligible businesses.

    • Businesses will not have to apply for this rebate. The Canada Revenue Agency will determine and automatically issue the rebate amounts to eligible businesses based on the payment rates of each applicable province for the corresponding fuel charge years, as specified by the Minister of Finance.
    • The rebate will be available to eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations that had 499 or fewer employees in Canada throughout the calendar year in which the applicable fuel charge year began.

  • The Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada was first released in 2010 and was last updated in 2015.

    • All major payment card network operators in Canada incorporate the Code into their rules, making it binding on all their network participants: issuers, acquirers, and payment processors.
    • More than 1 million businesses that accept payment cards in Canada will benefit from the Code revisions. In 2023, these businesses accepted approximately 14.1 billion card payments worth $1.2 trillion. 

  • Businesses pay fees to process credit card transactions, with the largest component being the interchange fee paid to credit card-issuing financial institutions, such as banks. The federal government has finalized agreements to lower these fees for small businesses starting on October 19, 2024. 

    • Visa and Mastercard have agreed to:
      • Reduce domestic consumer credit interchange fees for in-store transactions to an annual weighted average interchange rate of 0.95 per cent;
      • Reduce domestic consumer credit interchange fees for online transactions by 10 basis points, resulting in reductions of up to 7 per cent; and,
      • Provide free access to online fraud and cybersecurity resources to help small businesses grow their online sales while preventing fraud and chargebacks.        
    • Small businesses will qualify with each credit card network individually. 
      • Small businesses with annual Visa sales volume below $300,000 will qualify for the lower interchange fees from Visa, and those with annual Mastercard sales volume below $175,000 will qualify for the lower fees from Mastercard.
      • Non-profit organizations with transaction volumes below these thresholds will also benefit from reduced rates.

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Contacts

Media may contact:

Waleed Saleem 
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities 
waleed.saleem@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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