Tax refunds and tax credits provide funding for your business start-up and expansion by deducting certain expenditures from the annual tax bill of your business. Your business may apply for tax refunds of past expenditures or receive tax credits on future projects. These tax breaks provide a financial break which can free up your business' cash flow allowing further development and security.

Every grant and loan program has a specific application process. These processes, as outlined in government publications, are often complicated and difficult to understand. However, Small Business Funding Centre (SBFC) representatives will help you to decipher these processes and provide the details in an easy to understand format. To find out which grants and loans you are eligible for and the application process, please contact SBFC at 1-800-658-9792 or visit the web site: www.grants-loans.org

The Canada Revenue Agency, which falls under the purview of the Minister of National Revenue, is responsible for Canadian tax administration. Its responsibilities include assessing and collecting taxes and levies, and delivering social and economic benefits, such as the goods and services tax credit, through the tax system on behalf of the Government of Canada.

For more information, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Neither the Canada Revenue Agency nor the Department of Finance Canada publishes the Income Tax Act in print or electronically. Technically, it is "published" by Parliament in the form of bills that are enacted. In practice, however, it is a major task to keep the Act current because it is amended frequently. Therefore, it is left to commercial publishers such as Carswell, Commerce Clearing House, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and Ernst & Young to consolidate the Act (about 2,000 pages).

Should you wish to obtain a copy of the Act, you may consider contacting one of those publishers directly or you can check with a bookstore. As well, most public libraries carry the publication in their collections. The Department of Justice Canada also has a version on its website at http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/I-3.3/

First of all, it has nothing to do with businesses. The goods and services tax (GST) credit is a cash payment to low- and modest-income people to help them offset the cost of paying GST on things they buy. The GST credit is normally paid in quarterly installments.

Effective July 1, 2007, the basic annual amounts are $237 per adult and $125 per child. There is also a supplement of up to $125 for single individuals, including single parents.

You do not have to register for the GST if you provide only GST exempt goods and services. Examples of GST exempt goods and services include child care services, music lessons and used residential housing.

You do not have to register for the GST if you qualify as a small supplier according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and are not one of the exceptions to the small supplier rule.

Generally, a small supplier is defined as a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation whose total taxable revenues before expenses are $30,000 or less annually. Public service bodies, such as charities, non-profit organizations, municipalities, or universities, qualify as small suppliers if their total taxable revenues before expenses are $50,000 or less annually. You have one month from the day that your business exceeds the small supplier threshold amount to apply for GST registration.

However, some businesses are required to register for the GST/HST even if they are small suppliers:

• Taxi and limousine operators;
• Non-resident performers (who sell admissions to seminars and other events).

Even if you do qualify as a small supplier, you may want to register voluntarily for the GST. No matter what kind of business you're in, you will be paying GST/HST on the taxable goods and services you use in the course of your commercial activities.

If you are a GST registrant, you will be able to recover some of the GST you paid out on business purchases back through Input Tax Credits (ITCs).