Big fish leaving over tax changes: John Manley

OTTAWA — A big Canadian player has quietly picked up his chips and is heading for the exit amid all the tumult over the Trudeau government’s controversial tax proposals.

A business owner has informed John Manley, the head of an organization representing Canada’s largest corporations, that he’s moved billions of dollars outside the country since the Liberals announced their tax changes in mid-July.

The government’s proposals to eliminate several tax incentives have awakened a large contingent of vocal opponents from numerous backgrounds — from the small business community, to farmers, to tax planners, to professionals like doctors and lawyers. Even backbench Liberal MPs have publicly expressed their concerns.

Manley, a former Liberal finance minister in the Chrétien government, said the elements of the government’s plan to tighten rules on passive investment portfolios and the transfer of family businesses have created worries for some members of his organization, the Business Council of Canada. He pointed to one example where a successful business owner has decided to leave Canada with “billions of dollars.”

There’s a notion that other big players could soon head for the exits, Manley said.

“You won’t know about it because they’re not going to buy ads or report it — they’ll just go.”