December 23, 2020 update: Ontario Support for Small Business
The Government of Ontario has announced further support for small business in the form of grants to eligible companies in the amount of up to $20,000.
The Ontario Small Business Support Grant (OSBSG), provides support between $10,000 to $20,000 to help eligible small business owners endure the financial impact of the recently announced Government mandated lock-down.
Eligible small businesses include those that:
- Are required to close OR significantly restrict services due to the Province wide shutdown imposed on December 26, 2020.
- Have fewer than 100 employees (at the enterprise level).
- Have experienced a minimum 20% revenue decline when comparing April 2020 to April 2019.
Business that are not eligible for the grant include the following:
- Businesses that were already required to close prior to the introduction of modified Stage 2 measures.
- Essential businesses permitted to operate with capacity restrictions.
The people of Ontario await basic details with respect to this minimally described program. We can only hope that the Government fully describes the program when they release further details in January 2021.
For further details of the OSBSG, please see the following link:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/businesses-get-help-covid-19-costs
For further details and a summary of previously announced Ontario COVID-19 support (inclusive of the permanent increase of the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption from $490,000 to $1,000,000 and other small business grants), please see the following link: