News Release

FREDERICTON (GNB) – Legislation was introduced today to decrease small business income taxes in New Brunswick beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

The amendments to the New Brunswick Income Tax Act will allow the government to implement a small business corporate income tax rate reduction which had been announced in October.

The rate will decrease from 4.5 per cent to four per cent.

"Our government recognizes the importance of small businesses in job creation and economic growth,” said Finance Minister Roger Melanson. “We want to help our small businesses succeed so that they can become more competitive, have more money to invest in developing new products and services, and become bigger players on the export market.”

The change is a first step in the government’s overall plan to reduce the small business corporate income tax rate to 2.5 per cent by 2018, giving New Brunswick’s small businesses the lowest corporate income tax rate east of Manitoba.

Small businesses with capital assets up to $15 million will benefit from the tax reduction on the first $500,000 of corporate taxable income.

Small businesses employ more than 95,000 New Brunswickers. More than 30 per cent of workers in the province are employed by firms with fewer than 50 employees.