Minister announces interest relief for small businesses on
workers� compensation assessment payments

Joan Burke, Minister responsible for the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission and Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, has announced an initiative that will provide cost relief for small businesses when making their workers� compensation assessment payments.

Effective April 1, businesses paying less than $54,000 in annual assessments will be able to pay their current year�s assessments monthly through electronic funds transfer over seven months (April to October) interest free. Currently, assessments for the year are payable on April 1. Any late assessment payments are subject to an interest penalty equal to the commission�s prime interest rate plus five per cent (currently 9.25%).

"We have worked with the commission to put forward a new payment option as a first step in addressing the payment concerns for small businesses," says Minister Joan Burke. She noted that this is an interim measure as a major overhaul of the current assessment reporting and payment system is in the works for January 2007. "The commission will undertake consultations with employers on how they want to report on and pay their assessments in the long-term. The objective will be to ensure that the final system designed fully meets the needs of all employers," says Minister Burke.

"Government recognizes that small and seasonal businesses sometimes face challenges in paying their workers� compensation assessments annually," says Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. "The initiative we are announcing today will help support small business, especially in the rural areas of the province, by addressing one of their major concerns, namely the difficult cash flow problems they experience in paying assessments once a year."

Media contact: Jacquelyn Howard, Communications (709) 729-4062, 689-2624

2005 03 03                    2:25 p.m.