Category: Agribusiness

There comes a time in every company — a tipping point — when growth prompts the need for more formal policies and procedures. One of the areas where this need quickly becomes most obvious is in the human resources arena. As the number of family members increases from generation to generation, the complexity of hiring, training, and managing relatives can quickly overwhelm the original founders.

Part of the problem is that sometimes, typically after the second generation of family members is hired, there’s an expectation that all of the third generation of children and cousins will find life-long careers in the family business. While this works beautifully for a few family companies, it’s untenable for most.

Some relatives are more talented, knowledgeable, or harder working than others. Some have unique skills or training that make them particularly valuable to the company. Others are less motivated or less responsible, or just aren’t interested in pursuing a career there.

Be Intentional

The best way to manage these expectations — and the ensuing family drama — is to create thoughtful written family employment policies. Having these policies in place lets all of the relatives know exactly how the company handles the employment of family members. The topics to be addressed by the policies should include:

Education and training: Do you expect family members to attain certain degrees, licenses, or certifications before they join the company? If so, this should be spelled out in the employment policies, along with a timeframe required for completing the education or training. Also, clarify the company’s policy on paying for additional education or training programs.

Experience: Some family businesses require relatives to have a certain number of years of outside experience before joining the company. Exposing young adults to the rigors of the “real world” often gives them an appreciation for the dedication it takes to make a company thrive. They can also learn from others outside the business and bring those lessons back to the family, which adds a fresh perspective and new ideas.

Career track: Where will family members start their careers and how will they move up the corporate ladder? Some companies have formal training programs that rotate relatives through the various departments of the business so they get the big picture and discover their passions. Others start relatives at the lowest position and have them work their way up just as non-family employees do. Whatever path you choose is fine, but get it in writing so relatives know what to expect.

Compensation: How and how much will family members be paid? It’s not unusual for family businesses to overpay or underpay relatives. Best practices dictate that salaries be market-driven. That way, the family employees know the true value of their services relative to other employees and the marketplace.

You must also determine how to compensate relatives who actually work in the business (versus those who don’t), who will participate in ownership, and how ownership shares will be dispersed.

Communicate Regularly

To be effective, these policies must be enforced, communicated, and updated. An annual family meeting — separate from a business meeting — is the perfect forum for discussion of these and other family issues. While introducing these policies may be met with some resistance, moving forward with them in place takes a huge burden off the executive team and ultimately preserves family relationships.

If you’re making major changes to the way family employment has been traditionally handled, these discussions might be a bit emotionally charged. But getting everything out on the table is often a relief, and having everyone informed and on the same page sets the stage for a successful future.

Executive Summary

On Nov. 3, 2022, Canada’s Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, released Canada’s Fall Economic Statement; the government’s first update in the wake of high inflation, increasing interest rates, and economic uncertainty. The 2022 Fall Economic Statement introduces several new tax measures and affirms the government’s intention to proceed with previously announced tax measures, although the implementation date of some key measures is being delayed (trust reporting rules, mandatory disclosure rules, and excessive interest and financing expense limitation rules).

Along with the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the government both (i) released draft legislation for public consultation in respect of some tax measures and (ii) introduced Bill C-32 into Parliament to implement many other tax measures. This alert summarizes the key measures from the government’s Fall Economic Statement, draft legislation, and the proposed legislation currently before Parliament.

New tax measures announced in the Economic Statement

The following is a list of the new tax measures announced in the Economic Statement. These are not yet in effect, as the government indicated that it will provide details in the 2023 Federal Budget or at a later date. 

• A tax on share buybacks. The government announced its intention to introduce a corporate-level 2% tax that would apply on the net value of all types of share buybacks by public corporations in Canada, similar to a recent measure introduced in the United States. The details of this new tax will be announced in Budget 2023, and the tax would come into force on January 1, 2024.
• Revisions to the Alternative Minimum Tax. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) has been in effect for more than 35 years and is intended to ensure that high-income individuals cannot lower their tax bill too much. The government intends to revise (read and enhance) the AMT in the 2023 Federal Budget. 
• Investment tax credit for clean technologies. To attract investments in Canada’s clean technologies, the government proposes a refundable tax credit of up to 30% of the capital cost of investments in eligible equipment for property available for use on or after the day that the 2023 Budget is released.
• Residential property-flipping rule will apply to assignment sales. Starting on Jan. 1, 2023, profits arising from dispositions of residential property (including rental property) that was owned for less than 12 months is deemed to be business income (subject to limited exceptions). The government proposes to extend this new deeming rule to profits arising from the disposition of the rights to purchase a residential property via an assignment sale.

Intention to proceed with previously-announced measures

The government reiterated its intention to proceed with previously-announced tax measures and introduced Bill C-32 to implement these measures. Below are some of the notable measures: 

• Introducing the Canada Recovery Dividend under which banks and life insurance companies pay a temporary one-time 15% tax on taxable income above $1 billion over five years;
• Increasing the corporate income tax rate of banks and life insurance companies by 1.5% on taxable income above $100 million;
• Raising the upper limit for the phase-out of the small business tax rate from $15 million to $50 million;
• Providing that a tax benefit as defined in the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) applies includes an increase in tax attributes that have not yet been used to reduce taxes; 
• Strengthening the rules on avoidance of tax debts (i.e., enhancing the government’s power to collect unpaid tax debts); and
• Increasing reporting requirements for trusts, however, the Bill C-32 delays the implementation by one year: for taxation years that end after Dec. 30, 2023 (instead of after Dec. 30, 2022). Bare trusts are still included in the scope of the trust rules.

Notably absent from Bill C-32 are the new Mandatory Disclosure Rules (reportable transactions, notifiable transactions, and uncertain tax treatments). The government still intends to proceed with these rules but confessed that it needs more time to consider the feedback it received from the tax community before it proceeds with legislation. As a result, the proposed implementation date of Jan. 1, 2023, for reportable transactions and notifiable transactions is being pushed back to an unspecified date (whenever the legislation for the mandatory disclosure rules receives Royal Assent). The government still intends to have the uncertain tax treatment rules apply for taxation years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2023 (but the penalties will not be applicable until the legislation receives Royal Assent).

Excessive interest and financing expense limitation rules

The excessive interest and financing expense limitation (EIFEL) rules – announced as part of Budget 2021 – were first released in draft form on Feb. 4, 2022. On Nov. 3, 2022, the Department of Finance released an updated package of the draft EIFEL legislation, which provides essential considerations to the middle market of Canada. 

The EIFEL rules have not been enacted yet. However, it is not too early to consider their application.

What is EIFEL?

The EIFEL rules limit a taxpayer’s interest and financing deduction (i.e., interest and financing expenses (IFE) net of interest and financing revenues (IFR)) to a fixed ratio of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), referred to as adjusted taxable income (ATI). The EIFEL rules apply after the existing limitations on the deductibility of IFE including the thin-capitalization rules under the Income Tax Act (Act).

IFE includes, among other things: interest; financing expenses that are ‘capitalized’ and deducted as capital cost allowance or as amounts in respect of resource expenditure pools; an imputed amount of interest in respect of certain finance leases; certain amounts that are economically equivalent to interest or that can reasonably be considered part of the cost of funding; and various expenses incurred in obtaining financing. IFR includes the taxpayer’s interest income, as well as other income from the provision of financing. 

The ratio of permissible IFE, or taxpayers’ deduction capacity, will be 40% for taxpayers with a taxation year beginning on or after Oct. 1, 2023, and before Jan. 1, 2024. This ratio will reduce to 30% for taxation years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2024. The denied IFE will be carried forward indefinitely and may be deducted in a future tax year where the taxpayer has sufficient capacity. Where the taxpayer’s IFE is less than its deduction capacity, the taxpayer will be able to carry forward the deduction capacity to apply against its own IFE in the next three tax years. Alternatively, a taxpayer may transfer the excess deduction capacity to another group member, subject to certain conditions.

To whom does EIFEL apply?

The EIFEL rules apply to taxpayers that are corporations or trusts, including non-resident corporations or trusts that earn income in Canada. The rules also apply to members of a partnership who are corporations or trusts, with the IFE and IFR being attributed to them in proportion to their interest in the partnership. 

The following entities are excluded from the EIFEL regime:

1. CCPCs, together with any associated corporations have taxable capital employed in Canada of less than $50 million;
2. Groups of corporations and trusts whose aggregate net interest expense among their Canadian members is $1 million or less; 
3. Certain standalone Canadian resident corporations and trusts and groups consisting exclusively of Canadian resident corporations and trusts that carry on substantially all their business in Canada. This exception will not apply where a group member has a ‘material’ foreign affiliate, a non-resident holds a ‘significant’ interest in any group member, or a group member has any ‘significant’ amount of IFE paid to a non-arm’s length ‘tax-indifferent investor’ such as a non-resident or a person exempt from tax. 

Excluded and exempt IFE

Subject to certain conditions, taxpayers (including corporations and partnerships) may file an election to exclude IFE and IFR from the application of the 30% or 40% fixed ratio of deductible IFE when they are members of the same corporate group. This election facilitates domestic loss-consolidation transactions, which allow the losses of one group member to offset against the income of another group member.

Further, IFE incurred in respect of certain public-private partnership infrastructure projects (P3 projects), e.g., to design, build, finance, maintain, and operate, real or immovable property owned by the public sector authority, will be exempt from the scope of the rules. 

The group ratio method of calculating deduction capacity

Taxpayers who are members of an accounting consolidated group or would be if the group were required to prepare such statements under IFRS, can elect to deduct IFE based on a group ratio, which may be in excess of the fixed ratio. 

The maximum amount of IFE the consolidated group members are collectively permitted to deduct is generally determined as the lowest of: (i) the total of each Canadian group member’s ATI multiplied by the group ratio; (ii) the consolidated group’s net interest expense; and (iii) the total amount of ATI of each group member. The group may apportion this maximum deductible amount among its Canadian group members in its group ratio election. This flexible allocation mechanism allows taxpayers to redistribute the group ratio deduction capacity where it is most needed.

What should corporations do?

Once enacted, these rules will have a significant impact on the tax obligations of resident and non-resident taxpayers having IFE from arm’s length or non-arm’s length sources. Further, IFE paid before the enactment of these rules (i.e., during “pre-regime” years), including the present tax year, will affect the taxpayer’s beginning balance of carryforward deduction capacity. Therefore, taxpayers should carefully analyze the application of these rules along with other provisions in the Act on the deductibility of IFE. 

Rules for reporting income in the digital world and gig economy

The Department of Finance has released draft legislation to adapt the OECD’s “Model Rules for Reporting by Platform Operators with respect to Sellers in the Sharing and Gig Economy” for Canadian income tax purposes. The government sees these rules as necessary because the gig economy is causing a shift away from traditional employment relationships and, therefore, the traditional employer reporting obligations. Many of these gig economy businesses operate through online platforms – e.g., Airbnb and Uber – necessitating new reporting obligations.

These legislative changes will not create additional tax liability. Instead, the resulting reporting will provide the CRA with additional information to ensure tax compliance from those who use online platforms to provide goods or services. The draft legislation is slated to come into force on Jan. 1, 2024. 

Reporting entities 

The draft legislation introduces several new definitions and entities. For the purposes of this summary, below is a high-level overview of “reporting platform operator” and “seller”. Sellers are platform users registered on the platform during the relevant period to provide goods or services. This group is further subdivided into three categories: active sellers, excluded sellers, and reportable sellers. Reportable sellers are sellers that provide services or sell goods, receiving consideration for selling goods or providing relevant services during the period unless an exclusion applies. 

Reportable sellers face a penalty if they fail to provide their tax identification number, such as a business number, to the reporting platform operator unless they are exempted from providing the number.

A reporting platform operator is any platform operator other than an excluded platform operator that is either resident in Canada or facilitates activities by sellers resident in Canada or related to immovable property located in Canada.

Reporting and record-keeping requirements 

Reporting platform operators will need to file the prescribed form for the prior reporting period by Jan. 31 of each year unless another reporting platform operator satisfies the reporting requirement. The form will include information about the reporting platform operator, the reportable sellers, and business operations conducted through the platform. The same information must be provided to each reporting seller by Jan. 31. Consequently, the reporting platform operator is required to obtain the identifying information from each seller except excluded sellers who use their platform and keep records according to the requirements in the legislation. The information must be collected and verified by Dec. 31 of each year. 

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This article was written by Yoni Moussadji, Nakul Kohli, Cassandra Knapman, Sigita Bersenas, Simon Townswend and originally appeared on 2022-11-08.

The information contained herein is general in nature and based on authorities that are subject to change. RSM Canada guarantees neither the accuracy nor completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for results obtained by others as a result of reliance upon such information. RSM Canada assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect information contained herein. This publication does not, and is not intended to, provide legal, tax or accounting advice, and readers should consult their tax advisors concerning the application of tax laws to their particular situations. This analysis is not tax advice and is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for purposes of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer.

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The Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has released a new accounting standard on agriculture. The new standard provides guidance on recognizing, measuring, and disclosure with respect to biological assets and harvested products of biological assets. This new standard could be a dramatic change for many agricultural producers preparing financial statements under Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE) or Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations (ASNPO)! Why do you ask? Previously there was no specific authoritative guidance for agricultural producers. Hence, this led to significant diversity in practice, which the AcSB is trying to rectify.

The new guidance comes into effect for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. Therefore, you have time to prepare now. Understanding how this new standard impacts your entity’s financial statements will be key in preparing for this upcoming change.

Why Should I Start Preparing Now?

You may need to revise your existing accounting policies for recognizing and measuring biological assets and the harvested products of these assets. In addition, you may need to track information that was not previously retained in order to apply the new accounting requirements. Therefore, it is important to understand the requirements of the new standards. Here is a brief overview of the new standard, Section 3041 of the CPA Canada Accounting Handbook, to get you started.

Key Definitions
It is important to understand these key definitions since it affects how the biological assets and harvested products are measured and accounted for.

Agricultural producers are defined as enterprises that undertake agricultural production, such as those that engage in agriculture, apiculture, aquaculture, floriculture, or horticulture.

Agricultural production is defined as the development and harvest of biological assets for sale or for use in a productive capacity. Agricultural production covers a diverse range of activities, such as annual or perennial cropping, raising livestock or aquatic organisms, and cultivating orchards and plantations.

The following activities are not considered agricultural production therefore, they are not within the scope of this Section:

• forestry;
• harvesting from sources that are not owned or controlled by an agricultural producer (e.g., ocean fishing, hunting and trapping); and
• raising or purchasing animals for competitive sport.•

Biological assets are defined as living animals or plants, and can be either agricultural inventories or productive biological assets. Examples of biological assets are sheep, beef cattle, wheat, and fruit trees/vines.

Productive biological assets are held for use in the production or supply of agricultural inventories or other productive biological assets, acquired or developed for use on a continuing basis with other than short productive lives, and not intended for sale in the ordinary course of business. Examples of productive biological assets are mature sheep, mature beef cattle, unharvested wheat, and producing fruit trees/vines.

Agricultural inventories are defined as biological assets, or the harvested products of biological assets, that meet one of the following criteria:

• held for use in the ordinary course of business;
• in the process of agricultural production to be held for sale or use in a productive capacity;
• in the form of raw materials or supplies to be consumed in the enterprise’s agricultural production process; or
• held for use in a productive capacity with short productive lives.

Example of agricultural inventories include wool, beef, harvested wheat, and harvested fruit.

Who Applies this New Standard?

An entity preparing financial statements in accordance with ASPE or ASNPO will account for its biological assets and harvested products of biological assets used in agricultural production under this new accounting standard as long as it meets the definition of an agricultural producer. Entities not subject to this new guidance will continue to account for biological assets and harvested product using other standards in ASPE and/or ASNPO, such as Inventories, S3031.

How are Agricultural Inventories Measured?

First, an agricultural producer makes an accounting policy choice to use either the cost model or the net realizable value model in measuring its agricultural inventories. If the cost model is used a further accounting policy choice is made to determine the cost of its agriculture inventories using either: (a) full cost; or (b) only input costs (cost of direct materials and direct labour).

The net realizable value model, however, can only be used when all of the following three conditions are met:

• the product has a readily determinable and realizable market price;
• the product has reliably measurable and predictable costs of disposal; and
• the product is available for immediate delivery.•

An example of a type of agricultural inventory that might meet all three conditions is harvested wheat that is available for immediate delivery.

The accounting policy choice to use either the cost model or the net realizable value model must be applied consistently to all agricultural inventories having a similar nature and use.

Input costs of agricultural inventories comprise direct costs which include the purchase price, import duties and other taxes (other than those subsequently recoverable by the enterprise from taxation authorities), transport, handling, and other costs directly attributable to the acquisition of materials and services used in the development and harvest of biological assets. Trade discounts, rebates, and similar items are deducted in determining input costs.

Example of direct materials input costs for plants would include seeds or seedlings, fertilizer, and pesticides. Input costs for animals would include feed, vaccinations, and other veterinary costs.

Input costs of agricultural inventories also comprise direct labour, to the extent the cost of labour is readily determinable and is directly related to the items of agricultural inventories produced.

Alternatively, the cost of agricultural inventories measured at full cost includes all input costs (direct materials and direct labour) and a systematic allocation of fixed and variable agricultural production overheads and all other costs incurred in the development and harvest of biological assets.

Impact of Accounting Policy Choice for Cost Method

For entities that choose to use only input costs it is expected to reduce the cost and effort associated with measuring agricultural inventories at cost. Entities that choose to measure their agricultural inventories at full cost will likely incur a one-time cost to establish a methodology to allocate overhead costs.

How are Productive Biological Assets Measured?

Productive biological assets are initially measured at cost and are amortized over their useful lives. The costs of productive biological assets include all costs directly attributable to the acquisition, development or betterment of the assets, including delivery and establishing them at the location and in the condition necessary for their intended use (very similar to accounting standards for property, plant, and equipment).
There is one exception to amortization of productive biological assets. Some productive biological assets are managed on a collective basis to maintain their collective productive capacity indefinitely. Productive biological assets of this type are considered to have an indefinite useful life and are not subject to amortization.

An example of productive biological assets managed on a collective basis would be a herd managed collectively to meet a production quota indefinitely. Such a herd is considered to have an indefinite useful life and is not subject to amortization. The costs incurred in the maintenance of the service potential of the herd is a maintenance expenditure, not an addition to the biological assets.

Effective Date and Transition

Section 3041 applies to annual financial statements relating to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. Earlier application is permitted. An agricultural producer is required to apply this new Section retroactively which means that the entity will need to restate the comparative information in its financial statements. There are certain transitional provisions that are meant to facilitate the adoption of this Section in a cost-effective manner that we can advise you on. There will also be added note disclosures and additional information that will be required to be disclosed in the financial statements. A new disclosure requirement for example is information regarding quantities of agricultural inventories and productive biological assets if readily determinable. For example, an agricultural producer with a cattle herd may track the number of cattle in its herd and would disclose this.

Next Steps

As noted, there is time to plan and transition for this new standard, but we recommend considering now how the impending changes will impact your financial statements prepared under ASPE or ASNPO. Financial covenants, debt agreements and /or other key metrics should be considered and discussed with users of the financial statement since banking agreements may need to be revised or waivers obtained if this new guidance creates violations.

Our team of experienced DJB advisors can help you assess the impact on your financial statements, and determine what information you need to gather in advance of applying this new standard for the first time.