Ontario to match accelerated CCA measures

Ontario Minister of Finance, Vic Fedeli, announced on December 10, 2018, that the province will "match the federal capital cost allowance".  This statement presumably refers to the Accelerated Investment Incentive that was announced in the federal 2018 Fall Economic Statement last month. Although the computation of income for provincial purposes mostly relies on income computed for federal income tax purposes, capital cost allowance for Ontario purposes is slightly different. The CCA deduction from income is not the amount that is deducted under the federal Income Tax Act, but it is rather prescribed by regulation. That regulation, however, provides that the provincial CCA deduction is nearly identical to the federal computation, but with a few very minor differences, such as different rates applicable to certain farming equipment. As a result of this announcement, the government will ensure that its CCA rules harmonize with the Accelerated Investment Allowance for federal purposes, so Ontario businesses will be able to accelerate their CCA deductions for newly-acquired assets for the purposes of computing both federal and provincial income tax.