From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   New year rings in changes to Canada’s laws, taxes, wages  :CRA SOTW    
      
        
   Small businesses pay less tax, EI premiums rise, immigration sponsorship   
   program returns   
      
   By Evan Dyer, CBC News    
      
   New Year's Day always brings a round of changes to laws, regulations and   
   taxes, and 2018 brings its fair share.   
      
   One welcome change for Canadian small businesses is a drop in their tax rate   
   to 10 per cent from 10.5.   
      
   That reduction had been promised for some time but was brought forward as the   
   Liberal government struggled to deal with a backlash against other proposed   
   changes, including a plan to make it harder for small business owners to   
   sprinkle income among    
   family members.   
      
   Those changes also take effect on Jan. 1, although the first time business   
   owners will have to account for them is when they file their 2018 taxes in   
   2019.   
      
   At the federal level, there will be a slight increase in EI premiums, but the   
   Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates it will add only about $6 in new costs   
   for the average worker and $13 per employee for the average employer.   
      
   The government's new inflation-adjusted escalator to the excise tax on beer,   
   wine and spirits also comes into effect this year, although taxes won't   
   actually rise until April 1.   
      
   For those who want to bring elderly parents and grandparents to Canada, 2018   
   brings the return of the sponsorship program that had been closed down to deal   
   with backlogs.   
      
   Not everyone will be able to take advantage, though. Applicants have to file   
   an "Interest to Sponsor" form to be entered in a draw. Only those randomly   
   selected will be invited to begin the application process. Citizenship and   
   Immigration Canada has    
   pledged that process will be fairer and more transparent than in years past.   
      
   And, strictly speaking, this is not a New Year's Day change. The forms only go   
   up on the CIC website at noon ET on Jan. 2.   
      
   Provincial changes are bigger   
   Some of the more significant changes this year take place at the provincial   
   level.   
      
   Ontario will see the most significant, particularly for low-income earners and   
   young people.   
      
   As of Jan. 1, the province's minimum hourly wage will increase from $11.60 to   
   $14, higher than the current highest in Canada, $13.60 in Alberta.   
      
   Alberta will leapfrog ahead on Oct. 1, however, when its rate goes to $15.   
   Ontario is scheduled to catch Alberta once again at $15 at the start of 2019.   
      
   Those changes represent a real increase in living standards for minimum wage   
   earners in two of Canada's biggest provinces.   
      
   Also in Ontario, people younger than 25 will no longer have to pay for medical   
   prescriptions in 2018, and no worker will be required to present a doctor's   
   note to qualify for a sick day. It will be illegal for an employer to demand   
   one.   
      
   In Alberta, the carbon tax will rise to $30 a tonne from $20.   
      
   In practice, though, many Albertans will feel little effect. At the pumps, gas   
   will rise by only about two cents a litre, and a system of rebates is supposed   
   to insulate families making less than $95,000. The rebates are automatically   
   paid into Albertans'   
    bank accounts based on their tax filings.   
      
   New Brunswickers won't see a government-mandated pay raise, but they will get   
   a new paid day off. The third Monday every February will be a statutory Family   
   Day.    
      
   People who live in Canada's highest-taxed province will also get a break when   
   Quebec drops its lowest income tax bracket from a 16 per cent rate to 15 per   
   cent. And the province will give back $100 this year to families for each   
   child aged between six    
   and 17 to help cover back-to-school costs.   
      
   But someone making $30,000 of taxable income will still pay significantly more   
   income tax than they would in any other province or territory.   
      
   High-income earners in B.C., on the other hand, will see an increase in their   
   income taxes, as the province seeks to cover the cost of a 50 per cent cut to   
   its medical services premium, effective New Year's Day.   
      
   Some bots and beads banned, too   
   They're invisible and harmful, and both are banned as of Jan. 1 — in   
   Ontario, at least.   
      
   "Scalper-bots" are computer bots designed to block-buy large numbers of seats   
   at concerts and other events for resale at inflated prices. They become   
   illegal in Ontario. It will also be illegal to resell any ticket at a markup   
   of more than 50 per cent.   
      
   Microbeads are tiny plastic  balls that have long been used in shampoos,   
   scrubs and beauty products.   
      
   They are so small they typically pass through filters designed to prevent   
   human garbage from entering natural waterways. They have contributed mightily   
   to the buildup of plastic in the natural environment that is interfering with   
   the reproductive systems    
   of fish and frogs and is poisoning birds.   
      
   Microbeads are to be banned nationwide as of Jan. 1, with a grace period to   
   July 1 for some products.   
      
   Marijuana and carbon pricing   
   The two biggest changes scheduled for 2018 won't take place on New Year's Day.   
      
   The federal government has pledged to legalize marijuana and has set a   
   deadline of this summer. It has also informed the provinces and territories   
   that they must impose a price on carbon or Ottawa will impose one for them.   
      
   Both those commitments look likely to be major points of contention.   
      
      
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