Don’t limit physicians ability to incorporate

Like most physicians, I am very concerned about proposed changes which would limit physicians ability to incorporate and save for retirement.

Physicians already pay some of the highest tax rates and we pay a proportionally higher rate of income tax than individuals with the same lifetime earnings but whose income earning years start at an earlier age.

That is because our period of high earning is compressed into fewer years, so that we are subject to a higher marginal rate during our best earning years.

We are also subject to a discriminatory tax which is not charged to any other individuals. We are forced to pay GST or HST on supplies we purchase for our practice, but, unlike other businesses, we cannot pass the tax on to our customer – the government.

If I had not been allowed to incorporate a few years ago, I would not have been able to save enough for my retirement. Politicians seem to forget that although doctors were forced to work for the government instead of their patients, unlike other individuals who voluntarily work for the government we do not receive a pension other than Canada Pension when we retire. We work hard during our earning years and deserve the chance to have a comfortable retirement.

Despite the heavy taxes Canadians pay for Medicare, our health care system has some of the longest wait times in the developed world. This is because of a bloated bureaucracy, crumbling infrastructure and the Canada Health Act, which stifles innovation and encourages waste.

Changing the incorporation laws as they apply to doctors will aggravate the existing shortage.

Please think these things through before the health care system suffers any further damage from government ineptitude. Harry F. L. Pollett, MD, FRCPC East Bay