Answers to the questions our clients commonly ask.
Free of charge.
This 9-digit number identifies your business to the municipal, provincial, and federal governments in Canada.
You will need one if:
- your business is federally incorporated
- your business is provincially registered or incorporated
- you have registered for CRA program accounts, like those for GST, payroll deductions, or import-export
You can register for a business number:
- online using the CRA’s Business Registration Online service
- by mail or fax using Form RC1
- by calling 1-800-959-5525, the CRA’s business enquiries line
When registering, make sure you are ready to answer questions about your business and its owners.
No. You do not need to register for a GST account with the CRA if you are a “small supplier.” You are a small supplier if your revenue is less than $30,000 in a calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters.
If you are not a small supplier, and you make taxable sales, leases, or other supplies in Canada, you will have to register for a GST account.
Different rules determine whether charities are small suppliers.
You can register for a GST account:
- online using the CRA’s Business Registration Online service
- by mail or fax using Form RC1
- by calling 1-800-959-5525, the CRA’s business enquiries line
When you register, you will need to provide:
- the effective date of registration
- the fiscal year for GST purposes
- your total annual revenue
basic personal information (e.g. your business name and address)
It is necessary for incorporated businesses to file documents annually. These documents provide the relevant bodies with up-to-date information about your business and confirm that it is active.
If your business is incorporated under British Columbia’s Business Corporations Act, you must file an annual report. This report must be filed within two months of the anniversary of the date the company was recognized.
To file an annual report, you can:
- use Corporate Online
- have a law firm or registry agent submit paper forms
If your business is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act, you will need to file an annual return. This return must be filed with Corporations Canada within 60 days of the anniversary of the date of incorporation.
To file an annual return, you can:
- use Corporation Canada’s Online Filing Centre
- complete Form 22
The CRA requires that you keep accounting and other financial documents for a period of six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (for corporations, a tax year is the fiscal period).
Certain documents may need to be kept for different lengths of time. For example, documents concerning information that would impact the sale, liquidation, or wind-up of the business must be kept indefinitely.
Yes. Business owners in Vancouver must obtain a business licence. While most will only need a General Business Licence, sometimes a more specialized one will be necessary.
Read our blog post on business licences to learn more.
Yes. While you can gift shares to family members, you should be aware that there may be tax consequences.
Read our blog post on the capital gains tax to learn more.
Generally, songwriting is when you significantly contribute to a song’s melody, lyrics, or structure.
However, it is also possible to split the credit for songwriting upfront (including equally between band members, regardless of their contribution). The best way to do this is with a co-writing agreement.
Read Kurt’s article on songwriting to learn more.
Possibly. Whether your producer will get songwriting credit is something that you should decide on before you start. You should not be giving away credit unless your producer has significantly contributed to a song.
Read Kurt’s article on producers and songwriting to learn more.
Almost all producers will ask for a percentage of record sales. They may also be entitled to songwriting credit if they are co-writers.
Read Kurt’s article on paying producers to learn more.
You should look for good answers to these five questions:
- How long is the term?
- What is the territory?
- What is my royalty?
- How much will the label invest in me?
- Does the label participate in non-record revenues?
Read Kurt’s article on record deals to see some good answers.
It is possible to obtain federal licences for cannabis cultivation, processing, analytical testing, sale, research, and drug manufacture. Read our blog posts on cultivation, processing, and research licences to learn more.
Provincially, it is possible to obtain retail store and marketing licences.
If you would like to sell non-medical cannabis, you’ll need to obtain a cannabis retail store licence from the B.C. government. This licence will let you sell accessories and products including dried cannabis, cannabis oil, and seeds.
While some forms of promotion are prohibited by the Cannabis Act, informational or brand-preference promotion is possible if:
- It is addressed and sent to a named individual that is over 18
- It is not where young persons are permitted
- It cannot be accessed by young persons
This means it’s possible to use a brand element (if it’s not associated with young persons or a glamorous lifestyle) and indicate availability and price at the point of sale.
Additionally, a provincial marketing licence will allow marketers to promote the products of federally licensed producers to provincial licensed cannabis retail stores.
While cannabis is legal in Canada, that doesn’t mean much at the border. It is illegal to transport cannabis and cannabis containing products across it (unless they are to be used for medical or scientific purposes).
This means you generally can’t take cannabis in or out.
To qualify, you must:
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Have lived in B.C. for 12 consecutive months before the date of registration
- Have never owed a principal residence anywhere in the world at anytime
- Have never received a First Time Home Buyers’ Program exemption or refund
- Have a property that meets certain qualifications
The property qualifications (for a full exemption) are as follows:
- Located in B.C.
- Fair market value of $500,000 or less
- 1.24 acres or smaller
- Occupied by you within 92 days of registration
- Remains your principal residence for the remainder of the year
Closing costs include:
- Legal fees
- Fees to obtain title searches, tax searches, strata documents, insurance binder
- Property transfer tax
- GST
- Prorated adjustments of property taxes, strata fees, rent
GST is payable at a rate of 5% of the purchase price for new or substantially renovated properties.
As a buyer, you may be able to get a rebate if you use the property as your or a close family member’s principal residence.
The value of the rebate will depend on the value of your property:
- For homes valued at $350,000 or less, the rebate is 36% of the GST payable
- For homes with a purchase price of $350,000 to $450,000, a smaller rebate is available
- There is no rebate for homes with a purchase price of $450,000 or more
In order to qualify for the exemption:
- You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- You must move in within 92 days of registration
- The property must be your principal residence for the remainder of the year
- The property must be 1.24 acres or smaller
The amount of the exemption will depend on the value of your property:
- For homes valued at less than $750,000, there is a full rebate
- For homes valued at less than $800,000, there is a partial rebate
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