Canadian companies face unexpected tax burdens after going public on stock exchanges
When Andrew White was building CHAR Technologies as a Canadian-controlled private corporation, he looked to the federal SR&ED program to help his team leverage their investor capital and bring advanced design, technology, and environmental services to market. The support helped him attract additional private investment and create new cleantech jobs in the company.
While we’re proud to say that CHAR is now publicly traded (TSXV:YES) and growing, Andrew had to make the choice in going public and forgo the refundable aspect of SR&ED credits. Being publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange is a uniquely Canadian alternative pathway for access to capital, and CHAR supports the efforts of the TSX to continue to educate their government supporters of benefits to being public.
Andrew was recently interviewed by the The Globe and Mail which shone some light on the program, which Bryan Watson, Senior VP of Venbridge says is “a lifeblood of innovative companies”. Bryan went on to say that “In an economy where equity investment is extremely limited and credit is extremely tight, tax credits like SR&ED can be a lifeline to companies – companies that in some cases are working on the technologies needed to ensure our greener future.” And that is exactly what CHAR Technologies is doing!