The department did look at the effects and, of course, we had a consultation period, starting with when the budget was tabled, and again looking at the revised draft legislation that was released in July. We heard a number of comments from a number of affected stakeholders.
I know I mentioned this before, but it's worth reiterating. These are amendments of general application. They apply regardless of the industry. If there's, for example, a law firm carrying on business through a partnership, as many do, setting aside sole practitioners, one would expect that law firm to continue, to perhaps stop using this particular tax planning strategy to the extent they were using it before to multiply access to the small business deduction. Of course, in that case, I've worked at firms where there are over 100 partners, and I would not expect them to stop carrying on business in a partnership.
Of course, what we've heard a lot of today is from the medical community. I would say we heard, in the course of our consultations, that it seems that it's not universal that these types of arrangements are done through what would legally be considered to be a partnership. There's been a bit of, I won't say confusion, but different uses of terminology. For example, we've heard a number say that we have this partnership but it's not profit-oriented.
Well, the definition of a partnership is something that is carried on, a business that's carried on, in common with a view to a profit, and so there have been some difficulties. We have heard, though, that some operate through, not joint ventures, but co-ownership types of structures. I don't know the extent to which there could be a migration to that. We have definitely heard, in our submissions, and I think that you've received the same ones, that there would be difficulty, or reluctance, to move to those in the teaching hospitals or research community. But it is something we looked at.
As I said, there are still a number of tax benefits to be obtained when you look at the differences, for example, between earning directly versus earning through a corporation, even when that corporation is a member of a partnership and does not have access to the complete small business deduction. In addition, you have, as we worked through the numbers, the $32,000 number. When you work through it, it's actually much smaller than that. The value of the deferral is the $32,000 available to be invested. But if you paid that out in a year, it would be worth nothing. The next year, it might be worth, I think, around $1,500.
So, on the impacts, of course, we can't tell what will happen. You can't predict the future. We did not anticipate massive changes. That wasn't the intention.
As I said, many industries, and lawyers are the paradigm example, will continue to operate through a partnership, without any question.
Based on what we've heard, and continue to hear, although obviously concerns have been expressed, it's not clear to us that all the partnerships either will cease to be carried on or cannot be reorganized.