Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your presentations.
My first question is for the Business Tax Reform Coalition.
Mr. Stothart, I was interested in hearing your description of the current corporate tax rates and the plan to continue reducing them over time. We've seen some good news recently concerning investment in Canada, for example, with respect to the decision of Tim Hortons to bring their international headquarters back to Canada. One of the reasons given was that the tax rates are now more competitive and attractive in the province of Ontario in Canada than they are in the state of Ohio in the United States.
Would you comment on how you see the competitiveness of Canadian corporate tax rates proceeding over the next five to six years compared with those in the United States and Europe, especially given that Canada has the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the OECD? For example, our friends in the United States have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 13% today. One would expect them to increase or to have a need to increase their taxes over the next few years. Where do you see Canada's competitiveness going in the next few years?