FEDS TARGET SMALL BUSINESS

PROPOSED FEDERAL TAX LEGISLATION 

“AN ATTACK ON SMALL BUSINESS”

If your business is incorporated, you could be facing a larger tax bill and big compliance costs from the government’s new proposals to change the way corporations are taxed according to the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce.

Kim Smythe, Chamber CEO points out “This legislation will affect every business employing family members because the government wants to apply a much higher tax rate on income they consider ‘unreasonable’. If you invest profits from your business for the future – such as your retirement, the federal government is proposing to tax that income at an effective rate of 70%. And if you wanted to pass your business along to your children on retirement, tough new rules will make it difficult for young people to get the capital gains exemption and they could end up double-taxed. All of these measures translate to an attack on small businesses and the middle class.”

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are the engine of the Canadian economy – estimates range from 85 to 90% of all businesses in Canada are SMEs and in Nanaimo that number is over 90%.

“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 small businesses. The vast majority of the Canadian Chamber’s more than 200,000 members across Canada are small and medium size enterprises.” stated Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“The government’s proposals, while intended to target the wealthy, will hurt middle-class business owners from every sector of the economy. These are shop owners, farmers, doctors, financial planners, homebuilders, realtors, tech startups and trades—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.

The Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce held a roundtable with MP Sheila Malcolmson and local business leaders and will be collecting letters of concern and individual case statements to forward to mid-Island MP’s to ensure the voice of our local business community is heard loud and clear. Businesses should check the resources made available at www.nanaimochamber.bc.ca. Deadline for input to the government is October 2.