Ottawa deflates Small Business Month’s cheer

SPURNED COMMUNITY DIGS IN ITS HEELS

Independent Voice protests and campaigns over government policy.

Business owners from coast to coast have been taking direct action, including reaching out to their MPs, setting up websites and packing local meeting halls. The depth of this unhappiness appears to have genuinely surprised political leaders. Fingers can get burned when one plays with class warfare.

What politicians may have also missed is the growing sense on the part of entrepreneurs that governments don’t understand them, appreciate their contributions or care about their future. On top of planned hikes in Canada Pension Plan premiums, Employment Insurance, carbon taxes or pricing and provincial minimum wages, these changes appear, to many, to be the straw that may break the camel’s back.

CFIB’s submission to government and the work of the Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness (of which CFIB is a member) have provided strong evidence from tax professionals that the proposals will: (a) affect middle income business owners who have as little as $50,000 in income, (b) raise effective tax rates on business owners to levels higher than that of personal taxpayers, and (c) create scenarios for retroactive taxation — particularly on capital gains.

It appears government is beginning to get the message. Finance Minister Morneau has suggested five principles: supporting small firms, keeping their taxes low, avoiding red tape, protecting family farms and business succession, and testing proposals through a gender-based analysis. This is a good start. In fact, had he asked, CFIB might have recommended some of these principles months ago. But details and trust are in short supply these days.

CFIB is recommending that the current proposals be replaced with a process to work with the business community to ensure there are no abuses of income tax rules.

In the meantime, CFIB will continue its campaign to inform MPs and the public about the concerns of small business owners, and to educate Canadians that running a small business is not an easy endeavour and is certainly not a road to riches for every individual who chooses to hang up a shingle.

If you want to support small business more directly, I encourage you to participate in Small Business Saturday. On Oct. 21, visit your favourite neighbourhood spot — the local business that helps you feel at home in your community. It’s also the perfect opportunity to discover the variety of independent businesses in your area. Also check out shopsmallbiz. ca — an online directory of small business.

For governments, too, it really isn’t too late to take a new approach to dealing with the independent business community. Yes, trust will need to be rebuilt, but small business owners are used to building things.