Surrey Board of Trade concerned about lack of details on business tax changes coming on January 1

Anita Huberman

THE Surrey Board of Trade is concerned that changes to the Canadian-controlled private corporations, comprised mostly of small to medium sized businesses, are coming on January 1. And no one knows what those changes are.
“The Surrey Board of Trade wants the federal government to postpone implementation and undertake a comprehensive review of Canada’s tax system recommending that it establish a Royal Commission to do so. In light of mounting regulatory compliance costs imposed by all levels of government, proposed carbon taxes, and the prospect of US tax reform, we need a competitiveness assessment of Canada’s business tax system,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
“I am very concerned for our members,” said Huberman.
“After a summer of advocacy and also presenting to a Senate Committee in Vancouver recently we still don’t know what the changes will be on income sprinkling and passive investments.”
The Surrey Board of Trade appreciates that the small business tax has since been decreased. However, there has only been the odd announcement to address some of the modifications to the originally proposed changes. One such contentious change to discourage income sprinkling, whereby small businesses pay family members, will be scaled back somewhat but there is still a Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) “means test.”
“Unless we know the parameters of this test how can businesses plan their finances going forward? I have asked for clarification but the details of the new changes are not yet public,” said Huberman. “Businesses need stability and confidence in their government taxation requirements.
The Surrey Board of Trade has nearly 2,500 business members representing up to 60,000 employees.