Premier Brian Pallister, joined by dozens of provincial business people, recently expressed grave concerns about the impact and consequences of the federal government’s proposed changes to the taxation of private corporations.
“These proposed changes will have a negative impact on the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses in Manitoba and the tens of thousands of people who work for them,” said Pallister.
“Tax professionals, the medical profession, small businesses and their representatives have uniformly denounced the proposals and have concerns over the serious impacts on small businesses, saving for retirement and Canada’s ability to attract medical professionals in the future.”
Pallister was joined at a recent event at locally owned Western Marble & Tile LTD by its president and CEO, Jeremy Mathison; Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Curtis McRae, farmer and past vice-president of Keystone Agricultural Producers; and dozens of local business people concerned about these proposed changes.
“Ask yourself this question: who do you trust to create jobs in Canada?” said Pallister. “Is it small businesses or the federal government that taxes those small businesses?
The federal proposals would dramatically increase taxes paid by smaller corporations, tax their savings and penalize a family that passes a business on from one generation to another, the premier said.
“These business owners and their families cannot always afford access to employer pension programs, health plans, parental benefits or employment insurance,” said Pallister. “Their social safety net is created by pouring hard work into their business to build up assets and generate an income for their families. These proposals undercut the security and health of those families.”
“The federal government’s proposed changes to small business tax policy are too serious to be rushed through without full consultation with the business community and provincial governments,” said Kelly. “We commend the Province of Manitoba for standing up for Canadian small business owners. Far from being confined to the wealthy, these changes will affect business owners at all levels of income – the vast majority of whom are firmly in Canada’s middle class.”
“These proposed changes are disappointing, as they will limit my ability to reinvest tax savings into my family-run, growing business,” said Mathison. “The unexpected federal proposal to attack the tax planning used by small and medium-sized businesses like Western Marble, Granite and Tile will impact our ability to hire more employees and invest in more innovative technology to grow our business and strengthen the local economy.”
“What the federal government is proposing is going to make it substantially more difficult to pass my farm on to one of my daughters,” said McRae. “If Ottawa wants to grow the Canadian economy, it needs need to shelve this proposal. The finance minister and his officials need to come and actually talk with me when I’m not in the throws of harvest, and learn about how I manage my farm business.”
Finance Minister Cameron Friesen has written his federal counterpart Bill Morneau asking, given the potential impacts of the proposals, the federal minister to consult with provincial-territorial finance ministers at the next federal-provincial-territorial meeting in December before moving forward with any measures.
“There is too much potential damage to our economy and social fabric contained in these proposals,” said Pallister. “We are calling on the federal government to listen to the concerns of provinces and territories about the impact on their economies.”
