Toronto, June 30, 2026 – The Ontario government’s Small Business Tax Rate (SBTR) reduction announced in the recent Ontario budget and passed under Bill 97 takes effect tomorrow, July 1. The permanent 3.2% to 2.2% cut is expected to benefit over 375,000 Ontario small businesses with annual savings of up to $5,000.
“This tax cut is a win for small businesses, people, and the economy,” said Angela Drennan, CFIB’s Ontario Vice-President, Legislative Affairs. “Small businesses told us they would direct any tax savings to growth-stimulating measures, including increasing employee compensation, expanding their operations, and hiring new employees.”
In over 50 pre-budget meetings at Queen’s Park, CFIB showed elected representatives – including Finance Minister Bethlenfalvy – the urgency to small businesses and the economy of lowering the SBTR. Ontario small business owners signed over 11,000 CFIB petitions asking for tax changes.
“Lower taxes will also help small businesses struggling with economic uncertainty, U.S. tariffs, ever-increasing costs of doing business, and low demand,” said Julie Kwiecinski, CFIB’s Ontario Director of Provincial Affairs. “For the past 34 consecutive months, lack of demand has been rated by our Ontario members as the top barrier to their sales or growth. This means that people haven’t been buying enough of their goods and services to allow them to get ahead and stop treading water.”
“Small business owners prefer tax cuts over loans, programs, and grants to help them weather today’s economic challenges,” said Joseph Falzata, CFIB’s Ontario Policy Analyst. “A tax cut is a direct measure that doesn’t involve doing extra paperwork, searching for programs that rule out most small applicants, hiring extra help with forms, or paying interest – actions that stand in the way of small business success.”
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 103,000 members across every industry and region, including 40,000 in Ontario. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.