Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to continue my remarks. As I mentioned earlier, a number of initiatives have been put in place since we were elected, since our government came to power. There is still a lot of work to do and we are in the process of getting it done. To that end, yesterday, the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Finance, announced the government's intention to lower the small business tax rate to 10% in 2018 and to 9% in 2019, while moving forward on proposals to fix a tax system that is inherently unfair to the middle class. We want to ensure that the 9% tax rate for small businesses and the low tax rate for other corporations will be used for investments, growth, and job creation in the business community.
Our tax system encourages wealthy individuals to incorporate just so they can get a tax advantage. As a result, someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year can get a lower tax rate than a middle-class worker making much less.
In July, the Minister of Finance launched consultations to hear what Canadians had to say about what adjustments could be made so the tax system works for the middle class. We heard the opinions of business owners, professionals, experts and members of our caucus on how to improve our proposals so that they do not affect hard-working, middle-class entrepreneurs like family businesses, farmers and fishers. We listened to their comments and we are following up on what we heard. The minister is following up on what he heard. That is his role as finance minister.
In the short run, the government intends to streamline the proposal that would limit the ability of private corporation owners to pay less personal income tax by sprinkling their income to family members. Over the next few weeks and months, the government will unveil the next stages in its plan, which the Minister of Finance is mandated to promote, to address tax planning using private corporations. The measures we take will reflect the feedback that we have reviewed to date, and we will continue to carefully review the remaining feedback.
The government will continue to support small businesses and their contribution to our communities and economy. We will keep a low tax rate for small businesses and support their owners so that they can actively invest in the growth of their businesses, create jobs, boost entrepreneurship, and stimulate the growth of our economy.
We recognize the importance of maintaining family farms, and we will work with Canadians to ensure that the upcoming measures do not keep family businesses from being passed on to the next generation.
We will perform a gender-based analysis on the final proposals to make sure any changes made to the tax regime promote equality between men and women.
I want to reassure all Canadians and all members that every measure we take will support women's ongoing success. The Minister of Finance will do his utmost to make sure that Canadians can have confidence in these measures.