Wesley Novotny, Osie Ukwuoma and Wade Ritchie spoke to CIBC’s financial, tax and estate planning professionals on Canada’s new Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) framework. In a session titled Introduction to Employee Ownership Trusts, they discussed how EOTs offer a tax-effective, employee-centered succession strategy.
They reviewed the structure of EOT transactions, key benefits such as the C$10 million capital gains deduction, legal and tax considerations, and comparisons to traditional third-party sales. They also shared insights from Canada’s first completed EOT transaction, on which Bennett Jones advised. The session provided practical guidance for advisors at a time when more than 75 percent of Canadian small business owners are expected to exit their businesses in the next decade.
