Thank you, Mr. Chair, and those were great questions.
There are lots of dynamics involved when there's a family farm sale, or a family fishing corporation sale or a small business share sale, especially when an intergenerational transfer of a farm, corporation or small businesses is involved. I think those are things that need to be considered within this bill as well.
This bill is seeking to take away the inequities that currently exist in our tax structure when a sale is made to a family member. Those inequities shouldn't exist. There should be a level playing field when a business, farm or fishing corporation is transferred intergenerationally to a family member.
Mr. Maguire, you've talked a little bit about the safeguards you've built into this bill. You've also acknowledged and credited some of our previous parliamentarians for initially bringing a similar bill to Parliament. I think the recognition is there that we need this bill to create a level playing field for folks who are considering selling their small businesses or farms.
For the most part, a lot of families have socked away their equity, their retirement savings plans, inside of their businesses. They've kept those corporations running efficiently and effectively. They've actually been very prudent with their own expenditures and personal finances to make sure the corporations are well funded to succeed. Then when it's time to sell the business, they're looking at whether to sell it to a family member or whether they're going to sell it to an outside individual or entity. They're looking at the tax consequences and they're seeing that their retirement fund could now be in question depending on their decision. A question of a retirement fund or taxes should never inform a decision regarding whether a business is going to be sold to a family member or to an outside party.
Another dynamic is that it's also much easier to keep a family unified by providing fairness in the transition. If parents have to make an allowance for having to pay additional taxes to sell it to their children, do you think that creates stress inside families, Mr. Maguire?