Cornwall ON – The Canadian Chamber is reporting that some members of government are
calling for the corporate tax reductions, promised in 2007, to be eliminated. The possible
elimination has the Cornwall & Area Chamber of Commerce concerned and it plans to lobby
the government to keep its promise.
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“Whomever in the House of Commons is suggesting the elimination of this tax reduction
may not realize the implications for an economy that has been slow to recover,” declares
Jeff Bethune, the Cornwall Chamber‟s President. Bethune made reference to a statement
from the Canadian Chamber in a release to its national membership:
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“The decision to make Canada a more competitive tax environment was announced in the
2007 Economic Plan and reaffirmed twice in federal budgets. Businesses across Canada
have invested with the understanding that Canadian Taxes would decline. A sudden change
of course would constitute a broken promise to thousands of businesses and the many
people they have employed based on that promise.‟
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“The Chamber is gravely concerned that the trickle-down effect, should the tax reductions be eliminated, will have a negative impact on many of our local businesses,” continued Bethune. “Now that the stimulus program is winding down, local economic growth needs to be stimulated by other means. The promised tax reductions would unquestionably be one way to achieve that goal.”
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The Chamber plans to vigorously lobby both MP Guy Lauzon and Finance Minister Flaherty and urge them to keep their government‟s promise. It also plans to correspond with every Chamber member with a request that each one write to Minister Flaherty along with Opposition Leader Ignatieff and the leaders of both the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québecois.
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“The Chamber has prepared a sample letter and will be sending it to its entire membership,” reports Executive Manager, Lezlie Strasser. “We‟re asking that they personalize them and send copies to the Finance Minister, each of the party leaders, and MP Guy Lauzon. The Chamber hopes this strong opposition from its members will cause the government to re-think any possible change to its 2007 promise.”
