Our letter to Canada’s Senators re: 2017 tax reform
Dear Senators,
For your review and consideration:
I’ve attached (and linked below) our Firm’s submission to all Liberal MPs, and to the online consultation process for small business tax reform. We are writing to you, Canada’s Senators, because our firm does not believe that the Liberal government is giving adequate concern or analysis to the submissions which have been made by countless Canadians to date. This view is based on the Finance Minister’s defensive language and refusal to acknowledge any issues with the plan. In short, we do not believe the government is listening to Canadians on this topic. An adequate analysis of such wide-sweeping tax reform simply cannot be achieved in 75-days as new ‘collateral damage’ to the legislation seems to be uncovered by tax professionals with every-day that passes. We, very respectfully, request that Canada’s Senators, through whatever means available to them, initiate a proper consultation and analysis on these wide-sweeping tax reforms before they are passed into law.
Our tax firm is engaged by hundreds of families who will be affected by these changes and so we are incredibly concerned for the economic security of Canadian entrepreneurs of all walks of life and economic status. We are deeply concerned for the future of Canada’s economy should the proposed changes be allowed to pass into law. Our firm believes that there is room to improve the tax system, however we believe that the proposed legislation is not an improvement and that it would stifle growth and Canadian entrepreneurialism. Furthermore, the draft legislation is not in line with, and in many cases is contrary to, the message which is being delivered to Canadians by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minster Bill Morneau through the various media outlets. We believe that Canada is being misled on these proposals which is evidenced by the incredible outcry from small business owners across Canada in all demographics.
Some other information for your consideration:
- I’m sure you are aware of the Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness, if not here is the website: http://smallbiztaxfairness.ca/ . This coalition represents 62 national organizations (and growing), hundreds of thousands of private businesses, and (presumably) millions of Canadians.
- Yesterday, CPA Canada hosted one of the most comprehensive sessions I have seen on the topic to date. It is free and it can be re-viewed here: https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/career-and-professional-development/webinars/core-areas/taxation/corporate-tax/proposals-targeting-private-corporations
- Tomorrow morning, there is a live streaming event hosted by the U of C School of Public Policy featuring: Jack Mintz (leading tax economist), Kim Moody (tax expert from Calgary), Kevin Milligan (UBC Economics professor), and Richard Truscott (VP for AB and BC for the CFIB), which can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEqYA9GWeQY
- You can read countless other articles on the topic (as well as our submission), here: https://www.achenhenderson.ca/our-firms-letter-to-the-minister-of-finance/
Senators, it is with the greatest amount of respect that we implore you to take whatever actions are available to the Senate to:
- Give Canada adequate time to properly analyze the implications of the proposed tax legislation, and
- Give Canada adequate time to explore the various alternatives available to meeting the government’s stated objectives of helping small businesses and the middle class, and ensuring fairness in our tax system.
I would welcome a phone or email discussion from any of you to discuss these issues in more detail.
Very respectfully,
Clayton E. Achen, CPA, CA, TEP