Business name OR number registeration

[abidis]

Hi everyone,

I have landed in Canada as a PR in April, 2009 and am now planning to start my medical / health writing business in Ontario. I need clarification on couple of things and any personal experience or advice in this regard would be of utmost value and shall be highly appreciated.

I- Besides registering my "business name" (e.g. ABC company) from service Ontario website, do I also need to have a "business number" from CRA (federal government)? If yes, what should be done first; business name registeration or BN?

2- To get BN from CRA, they also ask you to enroll in one of the programs like
RT - GST/HST
RP - payroll deductions
RC - corporate income tax
RM - import/export

Now, I have not filed any tax return yet and would be the only employee. What category should I enroll in?

Thanks

Syed Abidi

[Tsveta]

If you have registered a corporation you should have GST number and file corporate income tax. You can have a corporation registered and be the only employee, that's fine. You may want to consult with an accountant to decide how you are going to file your tax return and if you need to register for RP - payroll deductions. I personally think it is too early to for payroll deductions. Get an income from your business first and than think about more taxes.