Finance committee  Unfortunately, I am not aware of the response.

Finance committee  I don't think it's a matter of one individual being hired; it could be a number of individuals being hired. Depending on how much in employment insurance premiums is paid by that number of employees, the employer has to match—actually, it's 1.4 times what the employees pay. We're

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  As long as the employer premiums in 2011 were $10,000, that's the criterion to be eligible for it. It could be any amount of increase. It has to be over two dollars to be credited, but it's up to a maximum of $1,000.

Finance committee  I'm not sure....

Finance committee  I don't think there would be a premium level that the employer would pay to reach the maximum. It really depends upon how much they pay in premiums in total. Employers pay 1.4 times what an employee pays. It really depends upon the aggregate amount. There is no premium level.

Finance committee  That's correct. If they're under $10,000, they could qualify for a credit.

Finance committee  I believe the number was about $204 million.

Finance committee  Unfortunately, I'm not sure what provision you're talking about in the budget. It would be difficult for me to answer that question.

Finance committee  Unfortunately, I'm not really an expert on that area. I can't answer that question.

Finance committee  The credit is a calculation based on the difference between EI premiums in 2012 and in 2011. To be eligible for the credit, you must have, in 2011, $10,000 or less in employment insurance premiums. If you meet that criterion, when the employer's T4 information return is processed

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  If there is a difference of $1,000—that's the maximum—they would get a maximum credit of $1,000. That would be applied against their payroll deductions account.

Finance committee  My name is Ray Cuthbert. I am the director of the Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance rulings division in the Canada Revenue Agency. We are here to talk about part 4, division 15, the hiring credit for small business for 2012. Essentially, it is the same as the hiring