Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate the interventions from my friend across the way.
Let me be clear that this is a tax change. It is a tax cut for some and an increase for others. However, the government is not clear on who the “some” and who the “others” are. It is like robbing Peter to save Paul without a great degree of clarity about which one is Peter and which one is Paul. Those making less than $45,000 a year, who are more likely to use TFSAs, would be worse off under this measure. Future generations would be worse off under this measure.
We are all going to vote on this at some point, and the parliamentary secretary needs to be clear about who the benefits go to. Someone making $100,000 a year and not using tax-free savings accounts is a bit better off. If people are in the middle of that bracket using a TFSA, then they are either worse off or neutral. However, if someone is on the low end, then one would definitely not be better off.
When we have these kinds of tax changes, reducing some and raising other brackets, we need to have a clear idea of what we are doing. We need to have a clear idea of why, rather than simply shifting things around perhaps, arguably, just for the sake of shifting.