A boost for the industry

While it’s not a government bailout for the equipment rental industry, the Federal government’s Economic Action Plan will directly benefit rental companies.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the 2009 Budget late in January saying that it would stimulate economic growth through a number of incentives. These include expanding and accelerating the recent historic federal investment in infrastructure with almost $12 billion in new infrastructure stimulus funding for roads, bridges, and other similar work across the country.
Rental companies will reap the spin-off benefits of construction contractors, who will need to rent machinery for the infrastructure projects. But there is also something for smaller rental shops that count homeowners as their primary customer base.

A home renovation tax credit will give up to $1,350 in tax relief on home improvement projects done between Jan. 27, 2009, and Feb. 1, 2010.

The 2009 budget introduces a temporary Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) that provides a temporary incentive for Canadians to undertake new renovation projects or accelerate planned future projects.

Basically, the tax credit will provide a temporary 15-per-cent income tax credit on eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000.

Check it out by visiting www.budget.gc.ca

For example, homeowners will be able to claim expenditures for major renovation projects such as finishing a basement, renovating a kitchen, or building an addition. Costs associated with such projects will be eligible for the credit, including permits, professional services, incidental expenses and equipment rentals.

Yes, that’s right…renting tools and equipment is part of this!

Examples of HRTC-eligible expendi-tures include:

• Renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement
• New carpet or hardwood floors
• Building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall
• Installing a new furnace or water heater
• Painting the interior or exterior of a house
• Resurfacing a driveway
• Laying new sod

Everything a homeowner would need to accomplish any of the projects on this list can be supplied by a rental company and the cost of the rental is included in the tax credit!

Although the mainstream media covered this when the story broke, it quickly faded into media obscurity, buried under recession-dominated headlines. Several people I speak to are still unaware of the tax credit.

That’s where you come in. How many rental companies are actively promoting this to their customers? If they are not doing this they are missing a golden opportunity to get some extra business.

The simple and cost-effective task of printing flyers and/or doing an advertising mailout could very well prompt customers to take advantage of the credit and visit your rental store to pick up what they need. The Home Depot store in my neighbourhood has already been handing out flyers. So, what are you doing to get a piece of this?

-Editor, Chris Skalkos