Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do like the word tangent.
I also like the fact that the finance minister has announced a number of additional steps, including establishing a blind trust for all assets held by him and his family. He is going above and beyond what is required and above and beyond what we want but he is doing the right thing and I applaud him for that. He is an individual for whom I have a lot of respect. He is an individual who has done a lot for his community. He has served on many boards, such as C.D. Howe, St. Michael's Hospital, and a number of others that benefit the broader community.
We cannot be indifferent when we find instances within our own federal tax system that give some people an advantage that others cannot access.
We have found that in some cases someone earning $300,000 with a spouse and two adult children can use a private corporation to get tax savings that amount to roughly what the average Canadian earns in a year. Such tax planning strategies are legal, but that does not make them fair. Tax fairness is a prominent issue for me. It is an important issue for our caucus. It is an important issue for all Canadians. I am glad to see our finance minister taking leadership with regard to tax fairness.
The need to level the playing field is at the heart of our current consultations on proposals to ensure equity in Canada's tax system while maintaining Canada's low and competitive business tax rates that support growth and job creation.
This summer the government put forward proposals that would address tax planning strategies that may be employed by wealthy and high income Canadians to pay less tax.
We inherited a system that encourages wealthy individuals to incorporate in order to pay less tax. That is a fact. This means someone making $300,000 can save about as much on tax as the average Canadian earns in a year, $48,000. That is not fair and we are going to fix it. Under the leadership of the finance minister, I am proud to say we are going to fix that. We are making changes to address tax advantages that only the richest individuals using high-priced accountants can take advantage of.
We have listened to small business owners, professionals, farmers, and fishers during the consultation and we will act on what we have heard to avoid unintended consequences.
I met with a number of tax experts in the riding that I represent and also with former associates who work in downtown Toronto on Bay Street, tax experts. I have listened to them and I have heard the unintended consequences that the consultation paper provided. I spent half of Labour Day and most of Thanksgiving Day on it.
We are listening, because that is what a government does. It does listen to its constituents and it does listen to stakeholders. That is what this government is doing.
We committed to reducing the small business tax rate in our platform and we followed through on that. By 2019, the tax rate will be down to 9%, saving businesses across this country up to $7,500, that they can use to reinvest in equipment, in salaries, in training, and so forth, whatever they choose to use it for.
That is why we see SMEs and formation rates for small business in Canada at robust levels. People have confidence in our economic platform. They have confidence in the finance minister and will continue to do so.
Right now there is upwards of $300 billion in passive savings sitting in private corporations not contributing to the fullest amount to the growth of the economy or business. Eighty per cent of this money is held by just the top 2% of the wealthiest corporate owners.
As we move forward, we will create a $50,000 threshold on investment income annually, or approximately $1 million in savings, to ensure business can continue to save for contingencies or future investments in growth.
Under our plan, 97% of businesses will see no tax increase on investment income. Changes will protect past investments and income from those investments.
We will also ensure that venture capital and angel investors are not impacted. We want to ensure that the next generation of innovation occurs here in Canada. The recent announcement in downtown Toronto with Google and Alphabet making their investment is literally going to transform the waterfront and create thousands of jobs—