The Ontario government is looking to help around 375,000 small business owners save up to $5,000 through a new tax cut.
The goal is to reduce the small business corporate income tax from 3.2 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
"As you know, small businesses struggle, especially mine, because it's a very niche tea room, and especially since I'm in the restaurant sector, I've been affected terribly by the rising cost of food. That's where most of my costs go. So any kind of savings with the government taxes is going to benefit me," said Wanda Bell, Owner of Mrs. Bell's Tea Room in Chatham.
She explained that her struggles within the food industry have been especially hard lately. This is because not everyone can support a local business due to the high costs of everything.
"I would say [the tax break] is overdue because we've been suffering with rising food costs, gas costs, and everything. I know other small businesses who have recently closed down," said Bell.
It's not just food businesses struggling; many other small businesses have noticed the continuing effort owners are putting in to keep afloat.
"You know, every business struggles more and more with inflation, and just the cost of goods continues to rise," added Zachary Chauvin, Owner of Tilbury AutoShine. "So to give small businesses a break through tax cuts and then a bonus like that, that's definitely going to make a big impact in the community for sure."
The tax cut is part of the Ontario 2026 Budget plan and will take effect over the next three years.
***This story was written by Logan Bueckert-Charlebois. Logan is a student in the Fanshawe College journalism program, and is currently doing an internship with CKNewsToday.ca
