E-commerce and Online Business Reference

If your a Canadian shopper searching for sites that ship to Canada and want to enjoy online shopping again or whether your an online shopping virgin, use this list to ease the pain and find the brand names you crave! (You may also find a designer bargain in the process!)

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That said, here are The Shopping Supplement’s favourite Top 10 Online Shopping Sites for stylish Canadian online shoppers, based on the Shopping Supplement’s nutritional-value calculator which considers: Style, Steals, Service and Simplicity.

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Shop Bop
Asos
BlueFly
Overstock
Style Fly
Top Shop
Urban Outfitters
Sephora
Aldo / Browns
Beyond the Rack

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1.Shop Bop: Offering free delivery to Canada within 3 days is unmatchable. Shoppers can also create an account to save your favourite designers and items to make shopping more personable. Here you can find any American designer your after. Or if its a sale your desire they have a dedicated 70% off site that will keep you shopping for days. Well deserved first place honours from the Shopping Supplement.

2.Asos: “The undisputed champion of online fashion.” The Times Magazine. Offering men’s and women’s clothing, beauty, designer and an impressive outlet site, you won’t be dissapointed by product selection or price. This site is a favourite among Shopping Supplement readers who are no stranger to the world of online retai.

3.BlueFly: Here you can find every mid-range and high-end designer you can think of you can find it here at minimum 20% to 40% off the retail price. Shopping is made even easier by allowing users to shop by colour, price, designer making it exciting to discover a new favourite brand and shop the latest trends.

4.Overstock: Do you love a brand that you can’t get easily nearby and want to find it for less? Not a difficult task if your using Overstock.com. Now shipping to Canada, Overstock offers items from well-known brands such as BCBG, Calvin Klein, Tahari and Michael Kors. Shipping costs are calculated at time of payment as items may be shipped from various locations. Organization of the site is superb as you can shop by price, size, designer, clearance, etc.

5.Style Fly: Looking for a Canadian designed line such as (my favourite) Gentle Fawn? You’ll find it at StyleFly. Shipping is a bit steep at but worth the extra dollars if you’ve found the brand you’ve been searching for. They also offer a price match guarantee and a style point program.

6.Top Shop: This famed UK brand has opened its doors to many  long-awaiting Canadian customers by offering shipment to Canadian addresses. Delivery is 5-7 days and 7.50 pounds. Shop their exclusive celebrity lines (such as the enormously successfuly line designed by UK model Kate Moss), their own cult-followed Top Shop line or their studio line which is home to a handful of iconic UK brand names.

7.Urban Outfitters: The flat rate shipping and free shipping on orders over 0, Urban Oufitters is a popular go-to site for urban chic style and scoring unique items with a hippie inspiration. I also love their apartment collection and sale section where you’ll find great deals on trendy styles all year round.

8.Sephora: If you’ve ever been to a Sephora location you know its your one-stop shop for quality makeup brands. Even if there is a Sephora store in your area the site offers a greater variety, additional brands, and reviews. If you can pick it up in-store its not worth the extra shipping charge (even if you do get free samples with every order!) but its still worth a look around the site to see what fellow purchasers thought about the product your thinking of buying as the site has an excellent rating system.

9.Aldo/ Browns: These two are tied for the best shoe site around! If you search for designer shoes you can find it at any of the above mentioned sites. But if your looking for quality and great style, sales, service and shipping costs then look no further. Both offer in-store returns at a location near you to take the stress out of buying shoes online and offer a huge selection of shoes, bags and jewellery (aldo).

10.Beyond the Rack: This is the one members-only shopping site that made it on this list – and for good reason. Each day the site unveils new designer events running for a limited time offering limited quantity at up to 70% off. Shipping is reasonable at .95 and delivery time varies. Don’t shop for items that you need for an upcoming event or for gifts. Delivery time is unreliable as Beyond the Rack works as a middleman in scoring us great deals so if their supplier takes a long time it will take even longer to get to you. Knowing this as you go into the sale makes a world of difference and nothing is quite like the excitement of scoring a designer item at 70% off!

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Now that you have the online shopping insider info for Canadians what more do you need to shop? Make sure to tune in weekly for the DOW (deal of the week)  at The Shopping Supplement blog to find fabulous style at incredible discounts posted here, and regular reviews of online retailers to intrigue the shopper inside you.

Chelsea Peters

Tax for Online Business Canada – Accountant Mississauga, Oakville, Toronto

Many companies today have a presence online or they are conducting business completely online. While that’s great for increasing sales and profits, it does pose many tax issues.

This article discusses current issues related to tax for online businesses in Canada.

Country of Tax for Online Business Canada – Accountant Mississauga Oakville Toronto

The first tax issue for online business in Canada is: “In which country does my online business have to pay tax?”

That depends on where your internet business is incorporated. For example, if your online business is incorporated in the United States, then it would have to pay tax in the United States. (Certain states in the United States, such as Delaware and Nevada, do not impose any state taxes whatsoever.)

However, the Canadian tax authorities want their fair share of tax. So, if you are living in Canada and are conducting your online (internet) business primarily from Canada, then the Canada Revenue Agency will impose tax on the profits from your online business even if it is incorporated outside Canada. The reason being is that the Canada Revenue Agency will argue that the mind and management of your online business is located in Canada and therefore should be subject to Canadian income tax. Therefore, you must be careful when selecting the jurisdiction of incorporation for your online business in Canada.

I recommend consulting with an Accountant in Mississauga before incorporating your online business in Canada.

Harmonized Sales Tax – Tax for Online Business Canada – Accountant Mississauga Oakville Toronto

The second major tax issue that online businesses in Canada need to address is the harmonized sales tax (HST). HST is applicable at a rate of 13% on product sales and services sold by online businesses to Canadians. Most provinces in Canada impose harmonized sales tax.

It’s very important for online business owners to track Canadian sales and non-Canadian sales. More specifically, your sales tracking system must be able to identify the country of residence of the customers that purchased your products and services, in order to ensure that HST is properly charged on Canadian sales.

If online business owners in Canada do not have such a tracking system, then the Canada Revenue Agency will impose HST on all sales made.

Harmonized sales tax on online businesses in Canada is an important tax matter that should be addressed with an Accountant in Mississauga, Oakville or Toronto.

Intellectual Property and Tax for Online Business Canada

The third major issue for tax on online businesses in Canada is intellectual property.

The most valuable asset for an online business in Canada is its intellectual property (IP), including a website or software. It’s an excellent idea to have your IP held by one corporation, and to have your other business assets held by a different corporation.

If you own more than one IP, you could consider creating a separate corporation for each IP owned. This will enable you to sell a particular IP without having to sell your entire business.

Furthermore, what’s great about the Canadian tax system is that capital gains of up to 0,000 on the sale of Canadian private company shares are not subject to income tax. So when you are selling the shares of a corporation that owns a particular IP, you will not have to pay income tax on the first 0,000 of profit on the sale.

You should consult with an accountant in Mississauga, Oakville or Toronto when developing the tax structure for your online business in Canada.

Scientific Research and Experimental Developmental Tax Credits – Tax for Online Business Canada – Accountant Mississauga Oakville Toronto

The fourth issue for tax for online businesses in Canada is Scientific Research and Experimental Developmental Tax Credits, also known as SR&ED.

For online businesses in Canada that are developing software or IP, the Canada Revenue Agency offers a government grant of up to 60% of the money spent on salaries, subcontractors, equipment and related expenses incurred.

To ensure that your SR&ED claim is processed correctly and quickly, you should engage the services of an Accountant in Mississauga, Oakville or Toronto that specializes in tax for online businesses.

CRA Targeting Online Businesses

The fifth major issue for tax for online businesses in Canada deals with the Canada Revenue Agency’s recent administrative position

It appears that the CRA is aggressively auditing online businesses, especially those conducting business on eBay, for unreported income.

Therefore, as an online business owner in Canada, it’s important to hire an accountant to ensure your tax returns are correct and up-to-date, and your books and records are properly organized.

An acquisition occurs when one company is bought by another. The acquisition can be friendly or hostile. A friendly acquisition occurs when the target company agrees to being bought. A hostile acquisition occurs when the target company does not want to be bought and fights the other company. A friendly acquisition has many of the same attributes as a merger. A merger combines two companies, usually in the same industry, to form a bigger and better company. Mergers occur in a friendly setting where executives from the respective companies work together to ensure a successful combination of all parts. Mergers and acquisitions take place when one or two companies want to expand quickly without having to build new branches from the ground up or there are two companies in the same field that are struggling to stay a float. They create one large company helping the two businesses strive in the industry.

Recently, Commerce Bancorp accepted an acquisition proposal from Canada based Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Group. The proposal was made shortly after Vernon Hill, the founder of Commerce Bancorp resigned. TD Financial Group is acquiring Commerce Bancorp for $8.5 billion in a transaction that will consist of 75% stock and 25% cash. TD plans to take the best elements of both companies and combine them to make a North American powerhouse. The combination of TD and Commerce more than doubles the amount of branches TD has in the United States as they look to become a leading North American financial institution. The acquisition will bring the deposit amount to one third of a trillion dollars, making it the first bank of that size in both the U.S. and Canadian markets. TD will also be acquiring all of Commerce Bancorp shares at $42 per share. The Commerce stock has not traded over $40 per share in over a year. TD is planning on keeping most of Commerce’s employees and all of their branches. They will also be combining their names. TD Banknorth and Commerce Bancorp will now be known as “TD Commerce Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank,” this is in recognition of Commerce’s huge success and loyal customer base. This is how a friendly acquisition can look more like a merger than an acquisition. TD is acknowledging Commerce’s success in the United States and wants to expand it rather then change it.

There are many cost savings and benefits to be found in the acquisition of Commerce Bancorp by TD Bank Financial Group.

Cost Savings for TD Bank Financial Group:

• TD acquired about 450 branches already built. Bringing the total number of branches to 2,100; making TD Commerce Bank the seventh largest bank by number of branches in North America.

• TD increases the amount of their deposits by about $46 billion without having to do any lobbying or marketing.

• TD gains about 16,000 Commerce employees. All of them are already trained and have experience working in the banking industry.

• TD also gains all of Commerce’s three million current customers without having to put forth money for advertising. This brings their total number of customers to about seventeen million.

• TD customers gain access to more then 450 ATMs and have easier access to their money if they are in the United States.

Cost Benefits for Commerce Bancorp:

• Commerce increases their number of branches by about 1,650. Automatically making them North America’s seventh largest bank by number of branches, without having to spend a dime.

• Commerce also increases the number of employees and customers they have without having to put any money out.

• Commerce customers get a new line of accounts to chose from. They also gain access to more then 750 ATMs and will have easier access to their money if they are in Canada.

• Commerce receives $8.5 billion in cash and stocks.

• Commerce’s Financial Markets sector will become part of TD’s, which is known worldwide for providing superior financial products and services.

Through this acquisition TD Financial Group is planning for the future. They are investing in an established and accomplished bank, which they believe is key to achieving long-term growth. It will also help Commerce reach its goals faster and benefit both TD Bank Financial Group and Commerce Bancorp. Both financial institutions have similar values and both believe the customer comes first, which is why the combination of the two will bring about undeniable success. Commerce will continue to WOW! their customers and now TD customers will be able to experience the same service that made Commerce Bancorp a success story.

Amanda Taylor

West Chester University