Canadian Payroll Reporter

4 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 News in Brief A look at news, facts and figures shaping the world of payroll professionals Feds still clearing Phoenix backlog › OTTAWA — Close to a year after problems with the federal government's new Phoenix payroll system began to surface, officials are still work- ing to clear a backlog of cases. During a briefing in January, Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada Marie Lemay said there were still approximately 8,000 public-sector workers with backlogged cases. Last July, the figure was close to 82,000. "The majority of the remaining cases involve transfers of employees moving between departments and acting assignments," Lemay said. "We are working hard to close remaining transactions as quickly as we can, but we are dealing with old files that predate Phoenix." "This means they take much longer to process than current transactions," she added. With the department focused on the backlog, Lemay said it is still taking longer than it should to process current pay. She said it could take until April to meet their service standards of processing pay transactions in 20 working days. The Professional Institute of the Public Service, one of the public-sector unions with members affected by the backlog, is calling on the government to implement a separate payroll system for employees with payroll problems until it fixes the issues with Phoenix. The union represents about 55,000 public- sector scientists, medical staff and other professionals. The federal government implemented Phoenix a year ago to replace its previous 40-year-old system. Finance department announces 2017 auto-related rates › OTTAWA — The government-prescribed rate used to calculate the taxable benefit for an em- ployee's personal use of an employer-provided automobile is 25 cents per kilometre for 2017, the federal finance department recently an- nounced. The rate is one cent lower than it was in 2016. The rate for employees whose principal job is to sell or lease automobiles is 22 cents per km, down from 23 cents last year. The deduction limits for tax-exempt allowances employers pay to employees who use their personal vehicle for business purposes remain the same as they were in 2016. The limit is 54 cents per km for the first 5,000 kms and 48 cents per km for each additional km. For the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the limit is 58 cents for the first 5,000 kms driven and 52 cents for each additional km. CRA highlights tax changes affecting non-resident T4 reporting › OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is reminding non-resident employers that due to recent legislative changes, they may not have to report on T4s earnings they paid to certain non-resident employees who work in Canada for a short period of time. In its T4 reporting guide (RC4120, Employers' Guide — Filing the T4 Slip and Summary), the CRA states that amendments to the Income Tax Act and its regulations that apply as of 2016 exempt qualifying non-resident employers from having to report on a T4 salary, wages or other remuneration paid to qualifying non-resident employees if the amount of the payment does not exceed $10,000 and certain conditions are met. To qualify for the exemption, non- resident employers must apply to the CRA for certification. In addition, at the time the employer makes the payment to the employee, the employer must be resident in a country with which Canada has a tax treaty or would be if that country treated the employer as a corporation for tax purposes. This applies for employers who are not partnerships. To determine whether there is a reporting requirement for the payment, the CRA says the employer must also make a "reasonable enquiry" to find out if the employee's total taxable income earned in Canada during the calendar year (including the payment of the salary, wages or other remuneration) is no more than $10,000. The CRA provides information on the certification process at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ nnrsdnts/cmmn/rndr/mplyrcrtfctn-eng.html. CRA announces 2017 ceilings for housing benefits › OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced the 2017 ceilings for housing benefits that employers provide to employees in prescribed zones without a developed rental market. The changes reflect an increase in the shelter portion of the consumer price index. For 2017, employers should use the following allowable ceiling amounts: • for common shelter: $191/month • for an apartment or a duplex: $515/month for rent only, $250/month for utilities only, and $765/month for rent and utilities • for a house or a trailer: $862/month for rent only, $381/month for utilities only, and $1,243/month for rent and utilities. The agency provides a list of communities that qualify as prescribed zones at www.cra-arc. gc.ca/northernresidents/. Changes announced to TFW Program › OTTAWA — The federal government recently announced changes to its Temporary Foreign Worker Program that it says will make it work better for workers, employers and the country's economy. The changes include immediately eliminating a cumulative duration rule, known as "four-in, four-out," that limited work in Canada for some temporary foreign workers to four years, after which they were not eligible to work here for the next four years. Another change, not yet in effect, will require employers who pay low wages to first advertise jobs to under-represented groups in the Canadian workforce before accessing the program. The groups are youth, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people and newcomers to Canada. The government says it will keep a cap on the proportion of low-wage temporary foreign workers who can be employed at a given work site at 20 per cent for employers who accessed the program before June 20, 2014, and at 10 per cent for those entering after that date. An exemption on the cap for seasonal industries who need temporary foreign workers for up to 180 days during the year will remain in effect until Dec. 31. Employees putting in extra work to take vacation: Survey › TORONTO —About three-quarters of working Canadians feel they have to put in extra work be- fore and after taking a one-week vacation, says a new survey by ADP Canada. The survey of 1,554 Canadians found that the time involved is more than just prep or catch- up work. Workers doing additional work around their vacation put in an average of 10 extra hours beforehand and 11 hours afterwards. According to the survey, before taking a one-week vacation, 75 per cent of working Canadians will likely have to do some extra work ahead of time, with 44 per cent saying extra work is "very likely." It also found that women are more likely than men to have to do extra work (49 per cent versus 40 per cent). After taking vacation, 73 per cent of working Canadians say they will likely have to do extra work to catch up. "While holidays are important for physical and mental health, our study shows that for many Canadians, the extra work required to take that vacation has become a bit like a time- off tax," says Virginia Brailey, vice-president of strategy and marketing at ADP Canada. Brailey suggests that managers ensure employees take all of their vacation and set an example by taking their holidays, too.

• Cover