To our friends and clients, please see below an electronic version of our correspondence issued to Finance Minister Morneau concerning his Department’s draconian tax rules proposed on July 18, 2017.
Feel free to include any portion of this correspondence to your own letter to Minister Morneau as you deem appropriate.
We do encourage all Canadians to voice any concerns to Minister Morneau, their own local MP and the opposition to their local MP.
The deadline for any such submissions is October 2, 2017.
Thank you.
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VIA EMAIL: bill.morneau@canada.ca
The Honourable William Francis Morneau
Minister of Finance
Department of Finance Canada
90 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Dear Minister Morneau:
Subject: Private Business Corporations and Proposed Tax Changes
Small businesses are a significant source of economic diversification and economic growth in Canada and are responsible for the majority of job creation in Canada.
The Minister of Finance has released a proposal entitled “Tax Planning Using Private Corporations”, which proposes to limit the sharing of business income with family members and to raise taxes on investments (passive income) held by businesses. After a careful review of these proposed changes, we would like to express our concerns:
We strongly believe the proposed changes, if implemented, will have a serious impact on the ability of independent businesses, including professionals and farm families, to survive during challenging economic times, and will inhibit the financial growth, innovation and job creation, that entrepreneurial families bring to the Canadian stage.
While the Liberal government has suggested these changes are targeted to close tax loopholes aimed at the wealthy, we believe the changes will affect the majority of business owners who are firmly in the middle class.
Small business owners take a significant risk in starting up and running a business, and in keeping Canadians employed through periods of economic instability. The proposed changes will limit certain opportunities for profitability in business, thereby making Canadian businesses more vulnerable during difficult economic times, and creating instability and uncertainty for small business owners.
Small business owners do not have access to the generous pensions, benefits and income security that is offered to many employees, including civil servants, across Canada. They rely on the value of their business, including any passive investments in their business, to ensure they will have enough resources for their own retirement.
Many small business owners in Canada and those employed by small business believe the proposed changes are unfair and will harm the Canadian economy.
These changes have the potential to discourage entrepreneurs from starting a business and could potentially limit employment and economic growth as business owners look for other ways to offset the additional costs to themselves and their business. Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you reconsider your position and not move forward with the proposed changes in the “Tax Planning Using Private Corporations” proposal. We ask that you consider an extension period for Canadians to provide their comments and to offer support and ideas for measures to address the potential shortcomings in tax policy, without adversely affecting private corporations.
Yours sincerely,
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