The implications of these proposed changes are huge and far-reaching. The income-sprinkling provisions in particular are a source of much concern and anxiety on the part of business owners. While it's absolutely true, as Mr. Grewal said, that business owners will still be able to have family members employed in their business, the uncertainty that this will create, as to whether or not the CRA is going to come in and then ask them to justify how much they happen to be paying a spouse for formal and informal work in the workplace is quite considerable.
I think there is a lack of understanding in general among parliamentarians, among bureaucrats in the Department of Finance, as well meaning as they may be, as to what it is to work in a small business. The roles are not as clearly defined as they are in large counterparts or in the House of Commons. There are many informal roles that need to be considered. The CRA is not particularly good at determining what is an informal contribution, or the risk that a business family happens to be taking on.
The other big change, of course, is on the passive income side. There is great concern about the abilities of a business owner to reinvest their profits back into the business. Yes, there are business owners who are worried about these provisions from a retirement savings perspective, but I'd say the number one concern is whether or not these changes are going to prevent them from saving their profit, getting it taxed away at a much higher rate in the beginning, and not allowing them to reinvest and grow their firm.
I'll wrap up on this. I would be doing you a disservice to not let you know—I think you as parliamentarians know this right now—that there is a lot of anger about these changes. Some may say that it's because of misinformation. Some may believe that we are providing the misinformation, but there is a lot of natural anger because of the tone the government is using with respect to the promotion of these changes. While there was some softening of the language from government, from the leaders on this front in recent days, there seems to be a doubling down on that, including in the first question period, which is deeply worrisome. I think we can't underestimate the impact that's having on business owners feeling as though their government is abandoning them. I wish I could sugar-coat it, but that's where it is.