Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to stand up against the Liberal tax hike proposal.
With the global economic recovery still very fragile, our government remains focused on ensuring that Canada offers the right environment to attract the business investment necessary to create more and better paying jobs, thereby improving the living standards of all Canadians.
The Liberal leader and some of his colleagues do not favour delivering the tax relief introduced by our Conservative government and passed by Parliament in 2007 to help businesses create jobs.
I find the Liberals' call today for a tax hike intriguing given their previous statements on the importance of providing tax relief for job creators.
The Liberal member for Kings—Hants used to understand the importance of tax relief when he said:
—the best way to develop and grow employment in Canada, particularly in terms of the new economy and the knowledge based industries, is not by pouring government money into specific businesses... Instead it is to reduce the tax burden—
That is exactly what we are trying to do.
I will spend the little time that I have today providing, the facts the Liberal Party is trying to ignore.
Let us be clear. Our Conservative government believes in lower taxes. The Liberals believe in raising taxes and higher taxes for families, seniors and businesses, higher Liberal taxes that will set families back, kill jobs and harm Canada's economic recovery.
Our Conservative government's tax cuts for businesses will do what the Liberals' call for higher taxes cannot, and that is to decrease the cost of business capital and increase the rate of return on investment. With more money available through lower taxes, businesses will be able to invest more in research and development, high tech, and productivity improving machinery and most important of all, in workers.
That is why since 2006 our Conservative government has implemented substantial, broad-based tax reductions that support investment, job creation and growth in all sectors of the economy.
Business taxes have been reduced from more than 22% in 2006 to 16.5% this year, and are on the way to 15% in 2012, as already agreed to by this Parliament.
However, business tax relief is just one of the tax relief measures we have introduced for the benefit of hard-working Canadians trying to make their businesses a success. There have been many others. For example, the federal capital tax, a particularly damaging tax for business investment, was eliminated in 2006. We have also reduced the tax rate applying to small business income to 11% in 2008. The amount of small business income eligible for this lower tax rate was increased to $500,000 from $300,000.
I see that my time is quickly coming to an end, so let me wrap up with a few concluding remarks.
Generating sustained increases in our standard of living may not be simple, but if we want higher wages, more jobs, and a higher standard of living, we need the business investment that results from the government's tax relief for job creators.
Canadians do not want dangerous new government spending commitments this year that would only trigger higher taxes, kill jobs and reverse Canada's fragile economic growth.
Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, our government will continue to focus on protecting the financial security of hard-working Canadians and their families and on keeping taxes low.
As Conservatives, we believe that this approach to encouraging business investment is the best way to create a brighter future for all Canadians. It is what Canadians expect of us and what we must deliver.
Accordingly, I would urge members to vote against this motion.