Canadian Payroll Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 CPR | March 2016 Legislative Roundup from MANITOBA on page 1 decade ago and resulted in 100 recommendations for improve- ments. Annual health and tax levy report due Mar. 31 Employers that are required to pay the provincial Health and Post Secondary Education Tax Levy must file a Health and Edu- cation Tax Levy Annual Report with the provincial finance de- partment by Mar. 31. Employers must register to pay the tax if their total annual payroll is more than $1.25 mil- lion. The first $1.25 million is exempt from the tax. On pay- roll between $1.25 million and $2.5 million, the rate is 4.3 per cent of accumulated remunera- tion exceeding $1.25 million. If an employer's annual payroll is more than $2.5 million, the tax rate is 2.15 per cent of monthly remuneration. The finance department uses the report to reconcile an em- ployer's annual remuneration with the tax levy the employer paid for the year to determine if the employer paid more than was required or did not pay enough. If an employer paid an insuf- ficient amount, the amount ow- ing is subject to a penalty and interest retroactive to the date the payment was due during the previous year. Employers must also file a copy of the federal T4 and T4A summaries for the preceding tax year; a summary of their contri- butions to an employee profit- sharing plan or an employee trust; a reconciliation of the dif- ference between the amount re- ported on the annual report and the amounts entered on T4 and T4 summaries; and, if they are part of an associated corpora- tion or corporate partnership, a Schedule for Associated Corpo- rations/Corporate Partnerships. Manitoba Reminder: Minimum wage going up The general minimum wage rate in New Brunswick will rise to $10.65 an hour on April 1. It is currently $10.30. Previously, the premier had said the provincial government plans to raise the general mini- mum wage rate to $11 an hour by 2017. In future years, it plans to in- dex the minimum wage rate. Nova Scotia Minimum wage rates going up on April 1 Minimum wage rates in the province are going up on April 1. The rate for experienced workers (meaning those with at least three months' experience) will increase from $10.60 an hour to $10.70. The rate for inexperienced workers (those with less than three months' experience) will rise from $10.10 per hour to $10.20. Nova Scotia adjusts its mini- mum wage rates every year based on the previous year's na- tional consumer price index. Nunavut Reminder: Government proposes hike to minimum wage The Nunavut government says it plans to raise the territory's minimum wage rate from $11 an hour to $13 on April 1. Legisla- tion to enact the change is cur- rently before the legislature. Ontario Annual EHT report due by Mar. 15 Employers that are required to pay the Employer Health Tax (EHT) must file an annual re- turn with Ontario's Finance Ministry no later than Mar. 15. The ministry uses the form to calculate the employer's to- tal EHT owing for the previous year. For employers that remit the tax in monthly instalments, the ministry uses the form to compare the instalments already paid for the year with the total tax due to determine if there is a refund owing or a balance due. Employers who are members of an associated group must complete and submit an As- sociated Employers Exemption Allocation form in addition to the annual report. Only one em- ployer in the group is required to complete and submit it. WSIB reconciliation form due by Mar. 31 Employers who pay monthly premiums to Ontario's Work- place Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for workers' com- pensation coverage must file an annual Reconciliation Form with the WSIB by the end of the month. The WSIB uses the form to compare the employer's actual earnings for the previous year with the amounts the employer reported monthly throughout the year. Along with the form, there are several schedules that employers may have to complete for earn- ings, such as those related to contractors or subcontractors, municipal volunteer forces and ineligible gross earnings. Quebec Minimum wage rates rising May 1 The province's minimum wage rates are going up on May 1. The general minimum wage rate will rise from $10.55 an hour to $10.75. This rate will also ap- ply for employees in certain sec- tors of the clothing industry. The rate for employees who receive tips will increase from $9.05 an hour to $9.20. The rate for raspberry pick- ers will increase from $3.12 per kilogram to $3.18, while the rate for workers who pick strawber- ries will rise from 83 cents a kilo- gram to 85 cents. If it does, will the schedule for remitting the contributions be the same one that employers use for sending in their CPP, em- ployment insurance and income tax remittances? Another detail yet to be an- nounced is how pension adjust- ments will be calculated and re- ported, said De Grâce. "Those are very specific de- tails that are formula-based and the Ontario government still has to work through that to enable employers and possibly third parties to perform these calcula- tions. Then, together, the CRA and Ontario will have to confirm where these PAs are reported. I am assuming and hoping that they would simply be reported on the existing PA box on the T4." To help employers better prepare, the OCC said the gov- ernment now needs to provide businesses with a more detailed implementation plan. "A critical next step is for government to establish a clear communications timeline that outlines how and when employ- ers will receive information re- lating to the ORPP and any ob- ligations they or their employees may have," said O'Dette. In the coming months, em- ployers across the province will be looking to the Ontario gov- ernment for information on the ORPP, while also watching its progress in CPP enhancement negotiations. from GROUPS on page 6 Pension adjustments unclear under new plan

• Cover