N.L. budget raises exemption threshold on payroll tax • Think-tank suggests payroll tax to fund Ontario drug program • Hiring to remain steady in second quarter • H1N1 more potent than seasonal flu for absenteeism: Study • Restaurant fined for failing to provide payroll records to labour standards officer • Index Sask. minimum wage to CPI: Report • Almost 8 per cent of people aged 45 to 64 had bankruptcy in adulthood: StatsCan
N.L. budget raises exemption threshold on payroll tax
St. John’s, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador is raising the threshold on payroll tax exemptions from $1 million to $1.2 million, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011. Finance Minister Tom Marshall announced the changes in the province’s 2011 budget. Raising the threshold will remove 90 businesses from the tax rolls and reduce the tax burden for 845 others. “This measure will put $2.3 million back in the hands of our province’s employers,” he said. Prior to the budget, the St. John’s Board of Trade advocated for the elimination of the province’s payroll tax, saying it decreased motivation for hiring workers and increasing salaries. But Marshall said eliminating the payroll tax completely would have cost the government $63 million, according to a report in The Telegram.
Think-tank suggests payroll tax to fund Ontario drug program
Toronto — The cost of provincial pharmacare is set to rise “precipitously,” with spending on Ontario’s drug benefit plan for seniors projected to increase from about one per cent of provincial income to five per cent by 2061, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. To prepare for this rising spending on drugs, as baby boomers age and workforce growth slows, authors Colin Busby and William Robson recommend partial prefunding of the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program to put the program on a stronger and more sustainable footing. They propose a payroll tax, a levy or an increase in the harmonized sales tax (HST) as funding models in A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario’s Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program. A social insurance-inspired pharmacare program, loosely modeled on the Canada Pension Plan, might spread the cost of drugs for an aging population over time, according to the report.
Hiring to remain steady in second quarter
TORONTO — Canadian employers project a steady hiring climate for the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Second quarter hiring intentions are strongest in the Mining sector, where 29 per cent of employers said they would add staff in the next three months. The survey of more than 1,900 Canadian employers reveals that 21 per cent plan to increase their payrolls in the second quarter of 2011, while five per cent anticipate cutbacks. Of those surveyed, 73 per cent of employers expect to maintain their current staffing levels and one per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions for the upcoming quarter. Among the 10 surveyed industry sectors, employers in the mining sector report the most optimistic results for the second quarter of 2011 followed by the services and transportation and public utilities industry sectors.
H1N1 more potent than seasonal flu for absenteeism: Study
London, U.K. — H1N1 contributed to higher absenteeism rates among Canadians compared to the normal flu season, according to a study published in BMC Infectious Diseases. Employees who took time off because of the seasonal flu took an average of 14 hours off compared to an average absence of 25 hours for the pandemic strain, according to the study which looked at Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey. Absenteeism rates due to influenza were estimated at 12 per cent per year for seasonal influenza over the 1997-1998 to 2008-2009 flu seasons, compared to 13 per cent for the two H1N1 pandemic waves in 2009, said the study. Absenteeism due to seasonal influenza has typically ranged from five per cent to 20 per cent, with higher rates associated with multiple circulating strains. Absenteeism rates for the 2009 pandemic were similar to those occurring for seasonal influenza. Employees took more time off due to the pandemic strain than was typical for seasonal influenza.
Restaurant fined for failing to provide payroll records to labour standards officer
Regina — A restaurant in Regina plead guilty to a labour standards violations after failing to provide payroll records to a labour standards officer. The Real Tomato, operating as Tumblers Restaurant of Regina, received the violation under section 66(c) of Saskatchewan’s Labour Standards Act — which requires “any person to deliver within a stated period, at a designated place, and in a form acceptable to the minister or his duly authorized representative, any information and records as the minister or his representative may deem necessary to ascertain whether this Act and any orders or regulations made under this act are being or have been complied with.” Charges against the company’s corporate director were stayed. The Real Tomato was fined $300 and a $60 surcharge. The province has convicted nine employers for violating provisions of legislation in the past 12 months. There are five charges pending.
Index Sask. minimum wage to CPI: Report
Regina — Saskatchewan’s minimum wage should be adjusted according to the annual increase in the province’s consumer price index (CPI), said a report from the Saskatchewan Minimum Wage Board. The current minimum wage is $9.25 per hour but the board recommended it be adjusted annually each September and should rise by 19 cents in September 2011. The province has to remain competitive with neighbouring provinces and it’s important to maintain a minimum wage that fosters a climate of business investment as well as attracting new entrants into Saskatchewan’s labour market, said the board. Expected adjustments to the minimum wage each September would be announced in April, giving employers ample planning time, said the board.
Almost 8 per cent of people aged 45 to 64 had bankruptcy in adulthood: StatsCan
OTTAWA — More than 480,000 people between the ages of 45 to 64 filed at least one bankruptcy during adulthood, according to Statistics Canada’s article “How does bankruptcy affect retirement plans?” in the April 2011 online issue of Canadian Social Trends. On average, respondents were 40 when they declared bankruptcy and were likely to have lower levels of education. Those who switched jobs frequently were more likely to go through a bankruptcy. Those who experienced bankruptcy were less likely to have a pension from a current or previous employment and were less likely to work white-collar, higher-income positions such as management or professional occupations, according to Statistics Canada. About 61 per cent lived in a household with an annual income under $50,000, compared with 37 per cent of other pre-retirement Canadians, found the study.
