A decision made today by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to increase mandatory insurance premiums on employers will hit the small business sector the hardest, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
The CFIB says, “For a small trucking company with five employees, this announcement could mean having to fork over an extra $394 to the WSIB; bringing their total 2013 premiums to $16,532. If you are a small roofing company, you could be on the hook for an additional $1,061; bringing your total 2013 premiums to $43,602. Regardless of the business, increasing taxes on payroll could not have come at a worse time for the Ontario economy.”
Small business owners anticipated higher insurance premiums since a report released earlier this year showed the WSIB deep in the red with a $14.2 billion unfunded liability. The province’s workers’ compensation system is entirely funded by premiums on employers.