A Senate committee request the abandonment of the tax reform

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QMI agency

Wednesday, 13 December 2017 12:28

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017 12:28

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OTTAWA – The tax reform proposed by the Trudeau government must be rejected, because it risk “of harm to Canadians”, it is intended to help, according to a report released Wednesday by the senate Committee on national finance.

The document followed a round of consultations conducted in the country by the committee. He points out that many of the witnesses, encountered during a thirty public hearings, have raised concerns in relation to measures laid down by the minister of Finance, Bill Morneau.

The restrictions on passive investment and the income splitting concern to many small businesses, health professionals and farmers, the report found.

“To bring sudden changes to the tax Act, the income – sometimes without providing the necessary details to understand the implications of this – does not inspire confidence,” said the committee’s chairman, conservative senator Percy Mockler.

According to the committee, the government would need more time to consult with businesses and tax practitioners about the impacts of the proposed changes.

If the report calls on the government to abandon its reform, it also invites them to undertake a complete overhaul of the current tax system, rather than focusing on a series of targeted measures.

“The last comprehensive review of the tax system took place in the 1960s, note the senate committee. Such a project would be ambitious, laborious and difficult. By contrast, if it is well done and if it takes into account the opinion of Canadians, it will leave a lasting legacy of stability and profitability.”

Two members of the committee are in disagreement with the abandonment of the proposed tax reform: senators André Pratte, and Eric Forest.

The minister of Finance Bill Morneau must unveil on Wednesday new details on the proposed changes to income-splitting.

On his arrival at the liberal caucus Wednesday morning, the prime minister Justin Trudeau has talked about a simple “clarification” that it will only affect that 3 % of the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The tax reform has resulted in a barrage of criticism since its presentation in July as part of the business community, the opposition and even within the liberal caucus. Several observers believe that the government is unfairly to small entrepreneurs, doctors and farmers.

The conservative Party denounces the lack of transparency of the government in this folder and its slowness to make their intentions known. “It is on the 13th of December, and there is not a tax specialist or an accountant in Canada who is aware of what will be the tax measures in force on 1 January, said Wednesday morning the deputy québec Alain Rayes.