Checklist Of Basic Legal Requirements

Posted by: Andy on July 26th, 2007
Category: Legal / Accounting
Viewed: 1,394 times

expanded version of this document available at http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/checklist

The following are the general requirements affecting most businesses. Additional regulations from the provincial and/or federal government may apply to your particular business. To check on this, call Small Business BC at 1-800-667-2272 / 604–775-5525 . Visit our award winning website at http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca

BUSINESS FORMATION & NAME REGISTRATION : Businesses operating in BC may be either incorporated or unincorporated and may be structured according to one of several forms.

Unincorporated businesses (sole proprietorships, general and limited partnerships) must register with the Provincial Registrar of Companies. Obtain registration forms and information from the Small Business BC, any Government Agent or most Chambers of Commerce in BC.

Incorporated businesses – The Business Corporations Act will be in effect as of March 29, 2004 , replacing the previous Company Act. The Incorporation of a new BC Company must now be submitted electronically at http://www.corporateonline.gov.bc.ca/ For details please contact the registrar of companies at 604-775-1041 .

BUSINESS LICENCE / LAND USE/ZONING : If your business is located in an incorporated municipality, ie. city, town, village or district, contact the municipal business licence office to obtain a business licence and to ensure conformity with land use and zoning bylaws; if your business is located in an unincorporated area of the province, contact the nearest Regional District Office. (Greater Vancouver business licence offices are listed on the back of this handout)

PROVINCIAL SALES TAX : If you are buying goods for wholesale/retail sale, or providing taxable services, apply for a social service tax registration certificate issued by the Ministry of Provincial Revenue - Consumer Taxation Branch #800 – 360 West Georgia St. Vancouver (registrations desk closes at 4:00pm ). Call: 604-660-4524 in Van. or 1-877-388-4440 . http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/ctb/ or visit a local Gov. Agent: www.governmentagents.gov.bc.ca/locations/map.htm

BUSINESS NUMBER (BN) – FEDERAL INCOME TAX : You must obtain a BN for the purpose of: corporate income tax, import/export, employee payroll deductions and the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) – GST optional if your annual revenue is not expected to exceed $30,000.00.

If you conduct business as a proprietorship or a partnership, report your share of gross and net profits (or losses) for the business' fiscal period on your individual tax return (T1). For an incorporated company, file a corporation tax return (T2) within six months of the end of the corporation's fiscal period.

Call: Canada Revenue Agency ( CRA ) toll free at 1-800-959-5525 . Or visit the Vancouver office at 1166 W. Pender St. or the Surrey office at 9755 King George Hwy. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/business/topics/bn/menu-e.html

WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD : If you are hiring employees or if your business is incorporated, register with the WCB before starting your business. In Vancouver call 604-244-6181 or call 1-888-922-2768 .

http://www.worksafebc.com

LABOUR REQUIREMENTS : If you are hiring employees, obtain a Business Number (above) and be aware of the current Employment Standards Act for BC. Contact 1-800-663-3316 or visit http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb for any questions. Apprenticeships for certain industries can be enquired at the Industry Training Branch http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/industrytraining/ 1-866-660-6011

BUSINESS RECORDS : As required under various Acts, if you are operating a business or have self-employment income, set up an orderly record and accounting system. It is recommended that you contact a qualified accountant to assist you with your business records and accounting system. All records to be kept for six years. For Questions relating to Federal Income Tax call 1-800-959-5525

BRITISH COLUMBIA ACTS AND RELEVANT REGULATIONS : Regulatory bodies can be searched for at http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/search . Acts can be found at http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg or purchased through Crown Publications Inc. at 521 Fort Street , Victoria , call 1-800-663-6105 .

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Warning! – E-mail Fraud – Tax Scam

Posted by: Nathan on January 17th, 2007
Category: General eBusiness, e-Business Basics, Legal / Accounting
Viewed: 3,059 times

Many Canadians have recently received a fraudulent email claiming to be from the Department of Finance Canada.  This email contains a link to a form that, if filled out, will compromise your credit card and SIN information.  

Go to http://www.fin.gc.ca/fraud_e.html to learn more.

While on the subject of internet fraud, it might be a good idea to go over a few basic no-no’s.

  • NEVER open an email from someone you don’t know.  Unsolicited email is one of the primary mechanisms of internet fraud and computer virus transmission.
  • ALWAYS read the privacy and/or legal statements on any website that asks you for personal or financial information before you give it to them.Be wary of international transactions, especially if the seller is suggesting free shipping
  • Try to obtain a physical address rather than a post office boxSend them an email to see if they have an active email address and be wary of buyers/sellers who use free email services where a credit card wasn’t required to open the account
  • Consider not purchasing from sellers who withhold any of this informationInquire about returns and warranties 
  • Check with the Better Business Bureau from your seller’s area Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card numbers
  • If it looks fishy, DON’T DO IT!

If you are not convinced, I found some stats from the US Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).  The following excerpts are taken from IC3’s 2005 Annual Report.

  • Internet auction fraud was by far the most reported offense, comprising 62.7% of referred complaints. Non-delivered merchandise and/or payment accounted for 15.7% of complaints.
  • Credit/debit card fraud made up 6.8% of complaints.
  • Check fraud, investment fraud, computer fraud, and confidence fraud round out the top seven categories of complaints referred to law enforcement during the year.
  • Electronic mail (E-mail) and web pages were the two primary mechanisms by which the fraudulent contact took place. In all, 73.2% of complainants reported that they had e-mail contact with the perpetrator and 16.5% had contact through a web page.
  • Recent high activity scams seen by IC3 include Super Bowl Tickets scams, phishing attempts associated with spoofed sites, re-shipping, eBay account takeovers, natural disaster fraud, and international lottery scams.

The internet is an amazing source of information and entertainment.  It is also a great medium with which to conduct business.  Don’t be discouraged by reports of internet fraud, just do your research and be smart.  

You don’t give personal or financial information to strangers on the street unless they can prove to you that they are reputable.  The same rule applies to the internet.

Check out http://www.e-bc.ca/pages/resources/ebiz-guides.php#fraud for more tips.

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