Finance committee  I think the challenge is when you look at the definition of “reasonable”. A spouse or a family member in a business doesn't just do one thing. They do a little bit of everything. They do a little bit of marketing. They meet with customers. They clean up. They answer the phone. Th

Finance committee  I think the overwhelming majority of restaurants and farms in this country have family businesses where the family member, the spouse and the kids, are really genuinely contributing to it. I think what we're concerned about is if CRA is going to unleash an army of auditors on thi

Finance committee  Okay.

Finance committee  I think you have a point. There's a fairness issue there for sure.

Finance committee  I think what the minister might be getting at is that once you get to $150,000 your RRSPs max out. Lots of businesses that earn $60,000 or $50,000 are paying themselves $50,000 but they're keeping the money in the business. It impacts business owners at all income levels. We thin

Finance committee  Very clearly.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  Mr. Kelly, let me give you an example of a couple who have owned a bakery and they've been working there for 30 years. They pay themselves dividends of $50,000 a year, each one. One of them starts slowing down the work that she does because they're aging and they've just reduced

Finance committee  No. We would encourage a broader consultation. Our CEO, Perrin Beatty, was in Atlantic Canada talking with the coalition for tax fairness, the unions, and the Centre for Policy Alternatives. The gentlemen said they would welcome a broader discussion on tax fairness in Canada and

Finance committee  You could take an example of dividends. You could have a stock issued for one dollar, it's redeemable, and it's a discretionary dividend. You can redeem that one dollar dividend and you could with discretion send out limitless amounts to a family member or something like that. Th

Finance committee  We haven't surveyed members on the responses to it. The challenge is that the consultation period is so short, so business owners are just finding out. They're going to see their accountants, so they're finding out what this actually means for their business now. That's why I'm s

Finance committee  I think that's what troubles our members most. I think that maybe some would agree that there might be some abuses that could be addressed, but there are ways to get at them and to make sure that we're not impacting a whole wide swath of businesses. Really, 70 days is not enough

Finance committee  Yes, I think our members have expressed themselves very forcefully on that. They object to the language that speaks of loopholes. Passive income is not a loophole; it's the way corporate tax has worked since 1973. Income splitting is paying family members. We get emails that are

Finance committee  You're exactly right. A lot of business owners invest in inside businesses and in businesses that their employees may start. It seems like a dividend or portfolio income, but it really is the type of venture capital and the type of productive investment that we absolutely want to

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce provided a pre-budget submission with recommendations on productivity. However, the critical issue, really the only issue our members are worried about for budget 2018, is the finance department's proposed tax changes. The