Introduction to Employee Ownership Trusts With CIBC Financial

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.