Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good evening, committee members.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 2021 federal budget priorities. My name is Kim Moody. I'm a chartered professional accountant and the CEO and director of Canadian Tax Advisory services for Moody's Tax Law and Moody's Private Client.
I have a long history of serving the Canadian tax professionals in a variety of leadership positions, including chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, co-chair of the joint committee on taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and CPA Canada and chair of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners for Canada to name a few.
Given the limited time we have tonight, I'm going to keep my opening remarks shorter than usual.
March 19, 2019, does that date mean anything to anyone? Well, it should. That was 629 days ago, and that was the last time the federal government released a budget. We are quickly approaching the Canadian record for that kind of delay of 651 days.
As former parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page, said in October this year that “are fiscal plans. And to say that, 'because there's too much uncertainty, we're going to manage without a plan', is kind of bizarre.... The reason we have plans is because there is uncertainty.” I absolutely agree.
In this day and age of uncertainty, a fiscal budget and plan is needed, and the recent November 30, 2020, fall economic statement is not that plan.
As esteemed economist, Dr. Jack Mintz, who recently appeared before your committee, stated in the National Post on December 3, 2020, “I was hoping our new minister of finance, once a fine journalist, might produce a fall fiscal statement written clearly and to the point. Instead, we are treated to 237 pages of repetitive back-slapping and cliché-laden phrases that few will bother to read.”
I agree. As Kevin Page stated in a CBC news article on December 6, yesterday, after the release of the fall economic statement, “We don't really have a good view—almost no view—of the government spending today. We have estimates of what the government thinks it will spend for 2020, 2021, but those are not the actual monies that are going out the door”.
Accordingly, it is critical for our country's fiscal future to develop a well- thought-out budget and to do it quickly and thoughtfully. Pre-budget consultations are famous for organizations and individuals who provide their views on how the Government of Canada should spend and/or raise their money. There's no shortage of funding requests, and today is no different.
With the above in mind, I believe there are two key broad objectives that the government should set their focus on. Number one is targeted short-term spending to continue to assist business owners, job creators, so they can continue to employ Canadians. Jobs, jobs, jobs should be of primary importance in the short-term. Number two is to engage in comprehensive tax review and reform.
With respect to the jobs priority, it's important to remember that government does not create jobs or wealth. That distinction is left mainly to the private sector; however, government can certainly provide a fertile garden to encourage job growth. How can it do that in the short-term? The continuation of the wage subsidy and rental subsidy will certainly help, but non-budgetary matters, pre-approved resource projects and accelerating permitting time for construction projects would greatly assist the acceleration of employment.