According to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario farmers will save $30 million per year in sales taxes under the HST.
Tax Savings through Input Tax Credits
If you're a farmer who buys business-related items – pickup trucks, computers or freezers, for example – you may be eligible for input tax credits on the provincial portion of the HST that you pay on these products. This helps put you on a level playing field with farmers in other provinces that already get these credits.
Tax Relief on Energy
To help Ontario farmers through the transition to a cleaner electricity system, the Ontario government now has a Clean Energy Benefit. Over the next five years, it will provide a benefit equal to 10 per cent of the total cost of electricity on consumers' bills.
More Corporate Income Tax Cuts
Here's what else Ontario has done through the tax plan to help farmers:
- cut the small business Corporate Income Tax rate by 18 per cent
- cut the Corporate Income Tax rate for Manufacturing and Processing - which includes income from farming - by 16.7 per cent
- eliminated the small business deduction surtax to help growing small businesses, including farms
Compliance Costs Savings
Ontario businesses, including farmers, now save more than $500 million per year on administrative and compliance costs alone.
Read more about the HST benefits for Ontario's farmers (provided by the Ministry of Agriculture Food & Rural Affairs).
