Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.
In this budget the fundamental problem with the government's approach is that it ignores the best approach to increase the business investment needed to improve productivity: lower business taxes and a lower regulatory burden.
Since the Liberals took office in 1993, corporate income tax revenue has more than doubled. Many of these taxes do not even depend on whether or not a corporation is profitable. The federal Department of Finance estimates that 70% of taxes that business pays are not related to any profit. Meanwhile, according to the Conference Board of Canada, of every single dollar in extra profit made by corporations over the past 30 years, a full 62 cents is clawed back.
I ask the member, if the government were truly concerned with productivity and jobs, would it not address the heavy tax burden that discourages needed business investment in this country?