Dale Wilson
Partner, National Practice Leader, SR&ED and Government Incentives at Kreston GTA
Dale Wilson is a seasoned professional with 15+ years of experience as an R&D-focused Electrical Engineering Specialist and 20+ years as a Firm Tax Director / Senior Tax Director / Tax Practice Leader / Technical Specialist in leading professional services organizations. He has a successful track record of partnering with corporate clients in various sectors, leveraging his expertise in the complex tax credit system to maximise benefits tailored to their unique needs. Dale excels in delivering tax claim solutions, earning trust and buy-in from high-level decision-makers. He has a strong reputation in (SR&ED) tax audits and appeals, with a 17-year record of near-universal client satisfaction and over $2 billion in successful technical claims.
Investing in Canada 2023: Funding and risk management strategies are key to success
July 11, 2023
Investing in Canada in 2023 is an interesting prospect. The status quo is no longer a viable option within Canada, as the economic environment, with high-interest rates and inflation, access to both investment and government funding is far more competitive in 2023. At the same time. many Canadian companies are increasing their R&D spend on targeted digital investments and governments are funding billions of dollars across many sectors, such as the capital-intensive semiconductor, EV, and component manufacturing, to address global chip shortages and the impacts of de-globalization, and the rapid transition from ICE to the evolving EV, energy and carbon neutral technologies. In 2023, the approaches businesses take to managing overall risks and funding will define their success.
Kreston GTA LLP works with leading global companies to help them expand their businesses within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), nationally and internationally. They do this by utilising extensive industry-specific knowledge, specialised engineering and tax experience, and a tailored client-centric service approach, that maximises funding from all sources (investment tax credits, grants, and other incentives), engaging clients at all stages in their lifecycle from concept through to successful commercialisation. They work with clients in all sectors from general manufacturing, medical and professional corporations, and utilities to some of the leading IT, artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, semiconductor, life sciences and many others.
Kreston GTA works with clients in regional science and technology hubs, Universities and research facilities, from early stage to large multi-national companies. Through this work, they share a multi-sector industry view of the important challenges in the economy, tax implications, and deep industry knowledge, on how organisations can best evolve to achieve success.
The GTA is home to 38% of Canada’s business headquarters, produces 20% of the entire country’s GDP, and has a vast highly educated and diverse talent pool in many knowledge-based industries including artificial intelligence, interactive digital media, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and EV technologies, and over 18 colleges and universities that drive major innovation and new immigrants and talent into the ecosystem. The region is also home to hardware and semiconductor-focused labs and many incubators, enabling the creation of transformative technologies in the future.
They work with clients to ensure an optimised funding model approach from all available sources of investment tax credits, grants, and other incentives with a targeted industry focus. The Canadian government programs are consistently among the most generous globally, however, they require industry and tax-specific knowledge on eligibility, financial benefits, and timing to achieve success. Typically, investment tax credits are determined based on qualifying work and expenditures incurred in the past and provide a relatively high certainty in funding outcome (foreign-owned companies receive up to 38 per cent of qualified labour expenditures, in most cases comprised of both refundable and non-refundable tax credits).
The firm provides clients with full service including audit support, with the highest acceptance rate (<4% audit rate, >99.9% acceptance rate) in Canada. Investment tax credits, particularly for foreign-owned firms, need to be analysed along with the corporate structure to ensure that the expected funding, which may be comprised of both refundable and non-refundable tax credits, can be effectively utilised. Grant funding and other incentives are based on intended future qualifying work, whereby once approved the target government entity along with the client shares in the overall expenditure funding. Grant funding and other incentives tend to be highly discretionary, and availability can be limited to only short periods.
If you would like to invest in Canada, please get in touch.
