Canada small business carbon rebate will be taxed for now despite government promise [Video]

The federal government has confirmed that small businesses will have to pay tax on their carbon rebate, despite government promises otherwise, because Parliament can’t currently pass legislation to make the payment exempt from income taxes.

But if legislation passes to do that the government says the businesses can apply for a rebate for the taxes paid on their rebate.

Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the situation is a “mess.”

Smaller and medium-sized businesses without a large carbon footprint pay the carbon price on fuel inputs the same way an individual consumer does, including buying gas for fleet vehicles or heating and powering their offices.

Initially the government was going to set aside seven per cent of revenues collected from the consumer carbon levy to provide funding to smaller businesses to reduce their energy use. But those programs never worked, and by 2024 …