• In person service at the Taxation Division Offices is available by appointment only. Services are also available by telephone and online.

New Brunswick Tax Measures

The Government of New Brunswick announced the following tax measures^[119]:

Measures for businesses

• WorkSafeNB announced on March 20^[120], 2020, that assessment premiums related to employer payrolls for February, March and April will be deferred for three months without interest charges. This affects employers who pay their premiums on a monthly basis.
• Business Property Tax Penalty Relief Program Eligible business may apply online for relief of tax penalties for the months of June and July 2020. The deadline to apply for the program is July 31, 2020. To qualify, a business must meet the following conditions:
  • have operations in New Brunswick;
  • be registered with Service New Brunswick; and
  • have experience an undue economic hardship directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and were unable to pay their property taxes by May 31, 2020.

The government has indicated that this relief is not available for certain classes of properties (e.g. properties receiving the full residential tax credit, properties owned by the Government (at all levels) and by Crown Corporations, and properties classified as vacant land, etc.)

On May 27, 2020^[121], the Government of New Brunswick announced that it will not proceed with the phased-in property tax reductions (on the provincial property tax on non-owner-occupied residential properties) that had been proposed in the 2020-2021 budget due to the government’s fiscal and economic deterioration.

Newfoundland and Labrador Tax Measures

On April 7, 2020, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador issued a Public Advisory^[122] extending tax return filing deadlines and remission of interest and penalties. On June 8, 2020, it issued another Public Advisory^[123] that further extended tax return filing deadlines:

Measures for businesses

• The deadline to file and pay International Fuel Tax Agreement returns for the first quarter of 2020 (January 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020) ordinarily due on April 30, 2020, from interjurisdictional carriers, under section 8 of the Revenue Administration Regulations, is extended to June 1, 2020.
• The deadline to file all other tax returns under the Revenue Administration Act and Regulations (except tax returns required from interjurisdictional carriers), which would normally be due between March 20, 2020, and July 31, 2020, is extended to August 20, 2020, including:
  • Gasoline Tax
  • Carbon Tax
  • Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax
  • Insurance Companies Tax
  • Mining and Mineral Rights Tax
  • Tax on Insurance Premiums
  • Tobacco Tax

  ^[124]

• WorkplaceNL^[125]’s COVID-19 employer relief measures for late payments (clearance, interest and penalties) expired on August 31, 2020. By September 30, 2020, employers must settle or arrange payments for their outstanding account balances.
• Taxpayers that cannot make payments when due as a result of COVID-19 can submit a written request to the Department of Finance, Tax Administration Division, at [email protected]^[126] for a remission of interest and penalties. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

On March 22, 2020, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador issued a Public Advisory^[127] that in person tax administration services are temporarily suspended.