“These proposals, while intended to target the wealthy, will hurt middle-class business owners from every sector of the economy. These are shopowners, farmers, doctors, financial planners, homebuilders and trades in all sectors—the entrepreneurial families who are the backbone of the economy and responsible for the majority of the job creation in Canada,” said Dan Kelly, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and member of the Coalition. “Our coming together highlights the urgency of combatting these proposals which, if legislated, would signify the biggest changes to the business tax system in decades.”
“In 10 years at the Canadian Chamber, I’ve never seen an issue that has generated greater concern among our members. To make matters worse, allotting only 75 days for comment in the midst of the summer holidays is not a consultation, it’s a stealth attack on farmers and family businesses. The vast majority of our network’s more than 200,000 members across Canada are SMEs. They will be contacting their MPs to say that these proposals must be scrapped and replaced with measures that support Canada’s entrepreneurs,” added Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
If implemented, the proposals will restrict small business owners from sharing income with family members; limit certain forms of saving in the business, making the firm more vulnerable in bad economic times and less able to innovate and grow; and change capital gains rules which could make it more difficult for business owners to transfer their business to the next generation.
The 35 business groups—on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of members they represent—have presented a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau asking the government to take these proposals off the table and instead meet with the business community to address any shortcomings in tax policy affecting private corporations.
Signatories of the letter include:
Canadian Association of Optometrists
Canadian Association of Radiologists
Advocis – Financial Advisors Association of Canada
Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance
Canadian Association of Farm Advisors
Canadian Association of Management Consultants
Canadian Bar Association
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Construction Association
Canadian Dental Association
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association
Canadian Pork Council
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Canadian Water Quality Association
Coalition of Ontario Doctors
Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting
Family Enterprise Xchange
Federation of Ontario Law Associations
Grain Farmers of Ontario
Grain Growers of Canada
Independent Financial Brokers of Canada
Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada
National Exempt Market Association
Canadian Home Builders’ Association
Canadian Horticultural Council
Canadian Institute of Financial Planners
Canadian Institute of Heating and Plumbing
Canadian Medical Association
Ontario Association of Radiologists
Ontario Medical Association
Restaurants Canada
Retail Council of Canada
The Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness is encouraging those concerned about these changes to contact their Members of Parliament and use the hashtags #unfairtaxchanges #taxesinéquitables on social media.
