cews and cerb

Ottawa isn’t withholding any tax at source on these benefits, meaning Canadians are getting the full $2,000 a month. Extension of the CEWS

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau warns Canadians receiving CERB, wage subsidy they will have to pay one back

The government wants to avoid a situation in which an individual is receiving both a wage subsidy through the employer and the $2000 Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the same time block.

More information will be coming soon. Both the CEWS and the CERB are taxable.

We want people to switch back from the CERB to the wage subsidy,” Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough recently told reporters.While the CEWS is meant to help stem further layoffs amid the health emergency, it’s also intended to allow companies to put workers who have been laid off or furloughed back on payroll, the federal government has said.But the federal government has been clear: workers cannot receive funding from both programs at the same time.“It is one or the other,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on the day CEWS launched.While it’s possible some Canadians will have received both, “they will have to, over the course of the coming months, pay one of them back,” Trudeau continued.Here’s what we know so far, along with some of the major questions the combination of the two programs raises:The benefit is open to Canadians who have lost all or most of their income because of COVID-19, whether they have lost their job as a result of the economic repercussions of the health emergency or can’t work because they are sick with the virus, under quarantine, caring for for someone who has the novel coronavirus, or had to stop working to provide childcare.The CERB, which runs for up to 16 weeks with the period from March 15 to Sept. 26, is available to wage earners, contract workers and the self-employed.It is also open for those who normally qualify for employment insurance (EI) as well as those who don’t.Other qualifications include: being a resident of Canada and having had an income of at least $5,000 from work or benefits related to maternity or parental leave for 2019 or the 12-month period prior to applying.The wage subsidy program is open to businesses large and small, including individual employers, non-profits and registered charities.To qualify, employers must have experienced a revenue decline of at least 15 per cent for March or at least 30 per cent for April or May 2020.The program, which is administered by the CRA, has The subsidy covers 75 per cent of “eligible remuneration,” which includes salary, wages and taxable benefits, but excludes things like stock option benefits and severance pay.The CRA will start processing applications on May 4, with the first payments starting to flow to employers on May 5, according to federal officials.The funding is retroactive to March 15 and will end by June 6. Nearly 10,000 of those applied in the first few hours.It’s not yet clear, though, how many employees that involves, Sorbara said.As of April 24, more than seven million Canadians had applied for the CERB. WATCH: Trudeau warns Canadians receiving CERB, wage subsidy they will have to pay one back Coronavirus outbreak: Applications open for federal wage subsidyCoronavirus outbreak: Applications open for federal wage subsidyApplications now open for Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy programApplications now open for Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy programou must have earned no more than $1,000 before taxes for at least 14 consecutive days in the first four-week payment period for which you apply for CERB.