Finance committee  I think that the question of unintended consequences should have been dealt with up front. I think that detailed provisions to deal with the unintended consequences, which have been amply identified, need to be brought forward. There needs to be consultation on those. As we've se

Finance committee  Correct.

Finance committee  Absolutely correct.

Finance committee  It would, but where it gets complicated is a very typical—

Finance committee  A very typical situation, and one to respond to your colleague's concerns, is that there are more female graduates from medical school now than men. Women are asking their spouses to stay home, and they're using this income-splitting device to enable them to have a family and to

Finance committee  Without a direct contribution, except that—and this is quite common—one spouse attends medical school while the other one works. During the medical school years the husband is supporting the wife. When she graduates and establishes her practice, they decide they're going to have

Finance committee  I have another comment.

Finance committee  That's not going to happen.

Finance committee  I'm happy to clarify that.

Finance committee  My statement was that there is an economic incentive here. In other words, the family unit could be financially better off in the case of a separation. I've done divorce law. I've sat with couples, with wives and with husbands, and when they get down to making this difficult deci

Finance committee  That's a rather unique perspective on a share. I have mutual funds. I have shares in Coca-Cola. I've never set foot on the floor and I'm entitled to a dividend by means of ownership. Where that really meets the ground is when families invest in families' companies. I have clien

Finance committee  I can't speak to international investment. I don't deal with a lot of international clients coming into Newfoundland. I've probably had two in the last five years. What I can say is that the sense of the local small business community is that they are stopping investments at this

Finance committee  Yes, but I'll point you in another direction. One of the consequences of this approach to TOSI is that a married couple will be able to income-split upon divorce, and a spouse can be compensated for her contribution in the business better upon divorce. That will vary by jurisdi

Finance committee  I would agree with that. I would also say that if you're a small business owner, the uncertainty of the harvest is one thing. The uncertainty when you're deciding how much to pay to your spouse or child for their work on the farm, knowing that in four or five years you could be s

Finance committee  No, but somebody getting stock options of $250,000 would pay the same taxes, or less, as somebody making $125,000. The $50,000-$250,000 is not possible. The only way that would happen is if we compared stock options to CCPC or to an employment income.