OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s (CTF) took to the sky over Ottawa today to express its opposition to the contentious small business tax changes being proposed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. The banner towed behind a small plane read: “No Small Biz Tax Hike”
Supporters of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) from coast-to-coast sent in donations over the past two weeks to hire a plane to fly the banner, underscoring taxpayers’ outrage with the proposed tax changes impacting Canadian farms, professionals and small businesses.
“We support tax reform – but what the minister has put on the table misses the mark.” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick. “The government claims they are going after “the wealthy,” but in their hurry to push through changes, thousands of middle class Canadians could end up as collateral damage.”
Wudrick noted that the last time a government attempted such dramatic changes to the tax code, it took a Royal Commission and several years of work – as opposed to a 75-day consultation period launched in the middle of the summer.
“If the government is sincere in saying it wants fairness it will slow down and back up,” said Wudrick. “A true commitment to fairness would also address many other distortions in the tax code, including the wide gap between personal and business tax rates, subsidies to industries, unions and political parties, and the use of offshore tax havens.”
“If this is about fairness, the government must commit to making any reforms revenue neutral,” said Wudrick. “Otherwise, Canadians will see these changes for what they really are: a cynical tax grab by a government that can’t keep its own spending under control.”
