The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program has been revised, and the changes passed into law.
In order to make the CEWS more responsive to sudden changes in revenue, the revenue-decline test for the base subsidy and the top-up subsidy are harmonized from September 27th forward.
A cumbersome formula for calculation has been discarded and now both the base and top-up would be determined by the change in an eligible employer’s monthly revenues, year-over-year, for either the current or previous calendar month.
For example, an employer with a 70 per cent or greater revenue loss in a period would be eligible for a 65 per cent wage subsidy.
Funding which was due to expire on December 19th has been extended until June 2021.
To transition from the former CEWS version, the base subsidy rate would continue to apply until December 19th.
As such, the maximum base subsidy rate would be set at 40 per cent for this period.
The wage subsidy includes a base subsidy for all employers whose revenues have been impacted by the pandemic.
