The Business Council of Canada is the latest group to condemn a proposed tax grab by Canada’s Liberal government. The head of that organization, John Manley, knows something about Liberal governments: he was a finance minister under former Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
The Business Council of Canada is a non-profit made up of 150 Canadian CEOs.
Manley said Thursday that investment capital totalling billions of dollars is already leaving Canada because corporations are concerned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is creating a class war, the National Post reports.
“I don’t get it at all — I thought that one of the successes of Prime Minister Trudeau was that he was the unifier, he was bringing people together,” Manley told the National Post.
Manley says a major player in the Canadian market is transferring large amounts of money outside of Canada over concerns that the tax amendment will hurt the Canadian economy. When he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Trudeau actually took time to laud his tax plan as a means of making the system “fair.”
The changes will lower the ceiling for capital gains and make it virtually impossible for a lot of middle to upper income earners to transfer their assets into personal corporations — in order to pay less tax on net income.
A coalition of small businesses, farmers, doctors and lawyers are now demanding a stop to the legislation. Finance Minister Bill Morneau took the unusual step on Thursday of appealing to farmers by having an opinion piece posted in The Western Producer.
“Now, much has been said about our proposed tax changes involving private corporations. I want to reassure Canada’s farm families that this isn’t about you,” he wrote.
But Manley says the Liberals cannot contain the tax revolt, which is spreading to larger investors, who certainly won’t put up, even if they decide to shut up.
“You won’t know about it because they’re not going to buy ads or report it — they’ll just go, Manley told the Post.
The Business Council of Canada is asking the federal government to stall the tax proposal until a more thorough assessment of Canada’s tax policy can offer solutions to simplify the system.