I stand corrected, Mr. Speaker, thank you.
In budget 2016, the Liberal government had an opportunity to provide some stability to our economy and reassurance to investors and business owners. Instead, the Liberals delivered a cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy.
The government promised to reduce the small business tax rate to 9% from 10.5% to allow small businesses to invest in their operations and their employees, but the government has now decided to subject small business to the higher tax rate of 10.5% and not deliver on the promised reduction. It seems the government has broken another promise on that one. The government has also terminated the small business job credit and has failed to follow through on the Liberal election promise to create a credit for hiring young employees.
Broken promises, no plan to return to a balanced budget, and tax increases for employers: hardly a recipe for growth and certainly nothing to be proud of. There is no plan for the government for balancing the budget, no plan for job creation, just a murky commitment and increasing public debt. The sad reality is that the budget falls short of the need for leadership that this nation requires.
Whether they are managing the finances of their households or businesses, Canadians understand and desire the values and notion of living within their means, handling their debt with prudence, and being disciplined and decisive in their spending. Unfortunately, the government is out of touch with Canadians in those regards.
The reality is that no Canadian homebuyer or business operator would expect to secure a loan from a bank for one amount and then return to the bank shortly thereafter and demand up to triple that amount. What is more, the government has undertaken this scheme of bait and switch without presenting a plan for repaying the debt. This is irresponsible and reflects an apparent detachment from reality.
As homeowners who have to develop a repayment plan before securing a home mortgage, Canadians are saying this budget does not meet the same standards of accountability.
As a small business owner and employer, I understand the values of fiscal discipline, prudent planning, and living within one's means, and the costs of borrowing.
The people of Canada deserve better than what the government has presented in budget 2016. Canadians deserve to know how the government is plotting our economic future.
Last week, our own parliamentary budget officer was banned from sharing the government's five-year cost estimates. When the government finally succumbed to demands for information from parliamentarians and Canadians alike, it was clear what the Liberals were hiding: cost estimates for their policies that significantly shrink over time. Perhaps this is no surprise, considering the Prime Minister's previous assertion that budgets balance themselves.
If the Liberal budget were based on reality, subject to prudence and tethered to reason, perhaps the Liberals would not be so motivated to hide the details, the small print and the large effect it has on our collective future.
One thing that was hidden in this budget is an increase in government tax revenues projected for the next five-year outlook. If one looks closely, there are predictions of government tax revenue increases from $237.6 billion in 2015-16 to $284.9 billion in 2020-21. This is an increase in government tax income of roughly 20% in five years.
Where is this increase coming from? Well, one increase is in projected GST revenue of almost 21%, from $33.1 billion to $40 billion by 2021.
We know where this increased revenue will come from, because there is only one taxpayer. Are these tax increases what Canadians can expect to continue to see and expect to have to pass on to future generations?
I fear that it may be what we can expect, unless the government can do something that it can truly be proud of and reverse this out-of-control spending and debt.
Canadians deserve the type of leadership and fiscal policy that places reason over popularity, prudence over impulse, and honesty over broken promises. Unfortunately, this budget does nothing of the sort.