Business groups unite, call on Ottawa

35 organizations from across the country have come together to form the Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness — a unified voice to oppose the federal government’s tax proposals that would dramatically change the way incorporated small businesses are taxed in Canada.

“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 ten 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.