FISCAL MEASURES TO ENCOURAGE THE CREATION OF NEW FINANCIAL SERVICES CORPORATIONS DE SERVICES FINANCIERS

Transcription

1 ORIGINAL TEXT IN FRENCH FISCAL MEASURES TO ENCOURAGE THE CREATION OF NEW FINANCIAL SERVICES CORPORATIONS DE SERVICES FINANCIERS Application for an Annual Certificate regarding a Corporation General Information and Form

2 General information ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS Under the provisions of the law respecting fiscal measures to encourage the creation of new financial services corporations, a qualified corporation means a corporation that satisfies the following conditions: it is operated by a corporation; 1 it has an establishment in Québec and carries on a business in Québec; it does not carry on a personal services business and is not exempt from tax; it carries on activities not previously carried on by any other corporation or partnership; 2 it carries on eligible activities exclusively; it acts all or substantially all of the time 3 on behalf of clients with which it is dealing at arm s length; it holds a qualification certificate issued by the Minister of Finance; it holds, in its regard and in regard to its eligible employees, an annual certificate issued by the Minister. TAX BENEFITS A qualified corporation may receive for a taxation year included in its eligibility period of five consecutive years: the tax credit relating to new financial services corporations, which corresponds to a refundable tax credit equal to 32 of qualified expenditures incurred, up to an annual maximum of $ ; the tax credit for the hiring of employees by new financial services corporations, which corresponds to a refundable tax credit equal to 24 of qualified wages incurred for an eligible employee, up to an annual maximum of $ per eligible employee. To receive these refundable tax credits for a taxation year, a qualified corporation must enclose the following with its tax return: the form and documents prescribed for that purpose by Revenu Québec; a copy of its qualification certificate and of the annual certificate issued in its regard by the Minister; and a copy of the annual certificate, if any, issued in regard to its eligible employees respecting whom it is claiming a tax credit. If, for any reason, a corporation is unable to enclose these documents with its tax return, it must send them to Revenu Québec not later than 12 months after the deadline for filing its tax return for the year concerned. 1 Partnerships are not eligible for these tax measures. 2 The corporation must show that none of the activities it carries on is the continuation of all or part of an activity previously carried on by another corporation or partnership. However, the law provides for a few exceptions. For additional information, contact the Ministère des Finances. 3 The phrase all or substantially all means at least 90. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 2 of 11

3 General information The Minister issues an annual certificate regarding a new financial services corporation for a taxation year if the Minister is of the opinion that the corporation has satisfied the aforementioned eligibility conditions. In addition, the Minister issues an annual certificate regarding an employee for a taxation year if the Minister is of the opinion that the employee has satisfied the following eligibility conditions: the employee held a full-time job during the period of validity (included in the taxation year) of the qualified corporation s qualification certificate, involving a minimum of 26 hours of work a week, for an expected minimum period of 40 weeks; 75 or more of the employee s duties performed during the period of validity (included in the taxation year) of the qualified corporation s qualification certificate, were carried out in an establishment of the qualified corporation located in Québec and were directly attributable to the transactional process specific to the carrying out of the activities specified in the qualification certificate of the qualified corporation. For greater clarity, the duties of an employee attributable to corporate activities constitute ineligible activities. Corporate activities include: corporate management; finance, accounting and legal affairs; secretarial work, messenger services, and human and physical resources management. STEPS TO OBTAIN AN ANNUAL CERTIFICATE The annual certificate is comprised of two types of certificates: 1. The corporation certificate which is required to claim the tax credit relating to new financial services corporations. The tax credit applies to qualified expenditures incurred during a taxation year, for which the corporation is claiming the tax credit. To obtain a corporation certificate, complete this form and provide the documents listed in section The employee certificate which is required to claim the tax credit for the hiring of employees by new financial services corporations. The tax credit applies to qualified wages incurred in respect of eligible employees during a taxation year, for which the corporation is claiming the tax credit. To obtain an employee certificate, download the form Appendix A Application for an Annual Certificate Regarding an Employee and complete a copy of the form for each employee in respect of whom the corporation is claiming the tax credit. When an application for an annual certificate is submitted for the first time regarding an employee, attach a copy of the employee s curriculum vitae and employment contract. Examination of the file may also involve a meeting between a representative of the Ministère des Finances (MFQ) and the person responsible for the certificate application. Two copies (the original and a photocopy) of the duly completed and signed forms, as well as the other required documents, must be sent to the MFQ as soon as possible after the end of the corporation s taxation year. Warning The general information in this form is by way of indication only. The details of fiscal measures are described in the Act respecting the sectoral parameters of certain fiscal measures (CQLR, chapter P-5.1). Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 3 of 11

4 Contact information For further information, contact: Ministère des Finances du Québec Gestion des mesures fiscales 380, rue Saint-Antoine Ouest, bureau 6100 Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3X7 Tel.: Fax: You can also visit the MFQ website: Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 4 of 11

5 Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Application for an Annual Certificate regarding a Corporation ORIGINAL TEXT IN FRENCH Note to the reader The information you provide on this form and, as the case may be, on Appendix A Application for an Annual Certificate Regarding an Employee is collected by the Ministère des Finances (MFQ) and used to verify the eligibility of your activities and your employees for the fiscal measures to encourage the creation of new financial services corporations. Accordingly, the requested information must be provided and failure to do so may cause your application to be denied. The information is considered confidential and may be sent to third parties only with the consent of the person who provided it, as stipulated in the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (CQLR, chapter A-2.1). Only authorized staff of the MFQ has access to the information provided. However, some information, if necessary for the enforcement of tax legislation, may be disclosed to Revenu Québec without the consent of the person who provided it. The information provided may also be used by the MFQ for research, assessment, study, investigation, statistical or cost forecasting purposes, or in the course of a survey. The applicant corporation must notify the MFQ in writing as soon as possible of any significant change in the information provided. Notification must be sent to: Ministère des Finances du Québec, Gestion des mesures fiscales, 380, rue Saint-Antoine Ouest, bureau 6100, Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3X General information Name of company (business name) Address of establishment in Québec City Province Postal code Website Québec Identification number assigned by Revenu Québec Québec enterprise number (NEQ) 2. Person responsible for this application Ms. Mr. Title Given name Surname Telephone Fax Ext.: 3. Corporation s certificate number Effective date of the corporation s certificate NCIR- year/month/day Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 5 of 11

6 4. Taxation year, or part thereof, covered by this application From: year/month/day To: year/month/day 5. Registration with a regulatory body Is the corporation registered with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)? Yes No If yes, in which category or categories of registration? Investment dealer Derivatives dealer Mutual fund dealer Exempt market dealer Restricted dealer Other category or categories of registration (specify): Portfolio manager Restricted portfolio manager Derivatives portfolio manager Investment fund manager If no, is the corporation exempt from registering with the AMF? Yes No Is the corporation registered with other regulatory bodies (e.g. OSC, SEC, etc.)? Yes No If yes, which ones and in what capacity? 6. Stock ownership Enter the names of the specified shareholders 4 of the corporation Enter the names of the shareholders having direct or indirect control of the corporation Percentage of voting shares held Country of origin 4 In general, a specified shareholder of a corporation, as this expression is understood in the Taxation Act, is, in particular, a shareholder holding at least 10 of a class of shares issued by the corporation. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 6 of 11

7 7. Detailed description of the corporation s activities Describe all financial products and services offered by the corporation during the period covered by this application. Attach another sheet or sheets as necessary; indicate the number and name of the corresponding section. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 7 of 11

8 8. New activitie Did the corporation offer new financial products or services during the period covered by this application? Yes (Describe them below.) No (Go to section 10.) Attach another sheet or sheets as necessary; indicate the number and name of the corresponding section. 9. Continuation of existing activities Were some of the new financial products or services described in section 8 previously offered by another corporation or partnership? 5 Yes (Complete the table below.) No (Go to the next section.) Financial products or services previously offered Name of the corporation or partnership that offered them NEQ Date of transfer of activities 6 (year/month/day) Attach another sheet or sheets as necessary; indicate the number and name of the corresponding section. 5 The corporation must show that none of the activities it carried on is the continuation of all or part of an activity previously carried on by another corporation or partnership. Since the law provides for a few exceptions, the information collected will enable the Ministère des Finances to determine whether the activities continued by the corporation are eligible for the fiscal measures. 6 The date of transfer of activities is the date as of which the corporation began to offer financial products or services previously offered by another person or partnership. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 8 of 11

9 10. Non-arm s length relation Under the provisions of the law, the corporation must act all or substantially all 7 of the time on behalf of clients with which it is not dealing at arm s length. Below are a few examples of clients with which the corporation may not be dealing at arm s length: a corporation and its parent company, subsidiary or sister company; a corporation and an individual who is the controlling shareholder of the corporation (or a member of the individual s immediate family); an investment fund created as a partnership and its manager; an investment fund created as a trust and its manager. Did the corporation provide services to a client with which it is not dealing at arm s length? Yes No If yes, identify the client, describe the services provided and indicate the earned income attributable to the services provided for the period: Attach another sheet or sheets as necessary; indicate the number and name of the corresponding section. 11. Declaration of compliance For the period covered by this application, the corporation declares that it met the following eligibility conditions provided for by law with respect to the fiscal measures to encourage the creation of new financial services corporations: It was operated by a corporation. Yes No It had an establishment in Québec and carried on a business in Québec. Yes No It did not carry on a personal services business and was not exempt from tax. Yes No It carried on activities not previously carried on by any other corporation or partnership. Yes No It held a valid qualification certificate. Yes No It carried on eligible activities exclusively. Yes No It acted all or substantially all of the time on behalf of clients with which it was dealing at arm s length. Yes No If, for the period covered by this application, one or more conditions were not met in whole or in part, explain why: Attach another sheet or sheets as necessary; indicate the number and name of the corresponding section. 7 The phrase all or substantially all means at least 90. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 9 of 11

10 12. Signature of the person responsible for the application I, the undersigned, declare that, during the fiscal year ended yyyy/mm/dd, carried on exclusively year/month/day activities specified in its qualification certificate. Name of corporation On request, I will provide the Ministère des Finances, Revenu Québec or their representatives with any information concerning this application for an annual certificate or any other matter relating to the incorporation and operation of the corporation. I understand that the corporation certificate and the certificates for eligible employees will be issued by the Minister further to examination of the corporation s file, which includes this form, Appendix A Application for an Annual Certificate Regarding an Employee, for each employee in respect of whom the corporation is claiming the refundable tax credit, as well as all other documents specified in section 13. I also understand that, under the provisions of the law, the Minister may retroactively revoke any qualification certificate or annual certificate, where information or documents brought to the Minister s attention so warrant. Lastly, I undertake to advise the Ministère des Finances, in writing as soon as possible, of any change that may arise regarding the information provided 8. Signature of the person in charge of the application Date Name (print) 8 The person in charge of the application is required to inform the MFQ of any significant change in the affairs of the corporation, such as a change of address or stock ownership, a restructuring, the addition or loss of activities or staff, or a change in the way in which activities are carried out. Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 10 of 11

11 13. Control sheet: Documents that must be sent to the MFQ Mail two copies (the original and a photocopy) of the documents to the address below: Ministère des Finances du Québec Gestion des mesures fiscales 380, rue Saint-Antoine Ouest, bureau 6100 Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3X7 For use by the MFQ Check the box beside the documents being mailed: Application for an Annual Certificate Regarding a Corporation, duly completed and signed Appendix A Application for an Annual Certificate Regarding an Employee, duly completed for each employee in respect of whom the corporation is claiming the refundable tax credit When an application for an annual certificate is submitted for the first time regarding an employee, attach a copy of the employee s curriculum vitae and employment contract. A recent, detailed organization chart providing the name and title of the position held by each employee The corporation s most recent non-consolidated financial statements The original copy of the form duly completed, signed and sent by mail is considered the official application. If it is impossible for you to send us all of these documents at the same time as the application, explain why and indicate the date you expect to send them to us: I declare that I have enclosed all the required documents with the application or explained why any of them are missing. Date Signature of the person in charge of the application Fiscal Measures to Encourage the Creation of New Financial Services Corporations Corporation (November 2015) 11 of 11