Finance committee  Two sectors are affected by this measure. First, there are the businesses in the regions far away from the major centres. It has been proven that businesses in those regions do not receive venture capital commensurate with their population. So this represents an investment in regional businesses.

Finance committee  The message we want to send is that you should continue in this direction. That will improve productivity, which will enhance the wealth of businesses, individuals and the government, because tax revenues will increase. So we encourage you to continue along this path. You mustn't stop; you must go even further in order to achieve the competitiveness levels of our main neighbours, with which a fairly large policy gap is developing.

Finance committee  We said in our brief that we should be taking a critical look at all expenditures and questioning whether they will really be allocated to public goods and services. In past years, we have defended a concept of subsidiarity, that is to say that the government in the best position to provide a service should provide it.

Finance committee  We don't use that kind of tax haven. As for the banks, I can't tell you either whether they use them. Fundamentally, we must ask ourselves the question whether our tax system is competitive. If businesses, organizations—I can't name them and I can't think of any—use these dodges, perhaps we should consider the fundamental reasons why they do so.

Finance committee  First, for this type of U.S. corporation that invests in venture capital, it's not the corporations but individuals who are taxed, investors, so that those investors are considered virtually as partnerships. There are benefits, including better access to the U.S. market, from both capitalization and commercialization standpoints.

Finance committee  That's a difficult choice. However, in the current context, our businesses must become increasingly competitive. So the tax system should be revised a little to reduce the tax burden of businesses. Recent studies by the C.D. Howe Institute show that the effective marginal capital tax rate is among the highest in the world.

Finance committee  The personal income tax is a measure that seems to me, perhaps in a selection, to be the one that should be examined, and the carrier effects on consumption, productivity and efficiency as a whole should be analyzed. However, I would focus a great deal on business.

Finance committee  You also have to look at the taxation context. In Europe, all countries tend to favour taxation by means of the value-added tax. Here in North America, our neighbours, our main competitors, aren't very much in favour of that kind of tax. The answer to your question is yes. In the world as a whole, it may be preferable to cut income taxes, but you also have to consider the context in which you find yourself.

Finance committee  Perfect. Good afternoon, everyone. With some 5.5 million owner-members, consumers and businesses alike, the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins is the leading financial institution in Quebec as well as the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. Because of its commitment to combining assets and values, Desjardins is involved in the community to an extent unmatched by any other financial institution, thereby contributing to the economic and social well-being of people and communities.