Economy doing well, but year-on-year federal deficits leading to creeping debt is concerning, say experts
Canada’s federal finances appear to be on a solid footing, but fiscal experts say the Liberals need to be concerned about paying down debt in the long term to remain fiscally responsible to Canadians. Canada’s federal debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is sustainable at its existing level of 33.2 per cent. The federal government saw a higher-than-expected […]
Liberals have put their foot in it with fiscal missteps
OTTAWA—It seems the Trudeau government has lost its mojo. There was a time when nothing could cut down the vibe of invincibility that was Trudeau 2.0. They were hip-hop, non-stop, cool, connected and no one doubted they were firmly on the top of the Canadian political charts. Two years in and two years away from […]
Justin Trudeau: Robin Hood for the rich
Justin Trudeau and the Liberals came to power two years ago, and every day I ask myself the same question: who are they really working for? The government’s responsibility is to work for all Canadians by implementing policies that ensure a fair distribution of wealth, and allowing everyone to benefit from public infrastructure and quality […]
Vox populi on tax reforms
In response to business groups’ fierce campaigning against proposed tax changes first floated in July, the Liberal government announced Oct. 16 the first of a set of revisions to smooth over concerns. In July, Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) had proposed changes to close what he suggested were three tax loopholes allowing high-earning […]
Taxation is more than a fight between good and evil
The last few weeks have been challenging for some ministers in the Trudeau cabinet. Finance Minister Bill Morneau has faced strong opposition to his small-business tax reform, while Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly has struggled to explain why an American company, Netflix, does not have to collect the GST, though Canadian companies offering similar services do. It […]
Tax reform consultation over, but we’re still listening: Morneau
Our current tax system isn’t fair to the middle class. It rewards people who are successful, more than it rewards people working hard to be successful. We didn’t design the system we inherited, but we are going to fix it. A few weeks ago, I wrapped up a consultation on tax planning using private corporations. […]
Canada’s most-lobbied staffers drive policy tied to federal purse
Canada’s top-lobbied political staffers have “panache,” and are “affable” and “rigorous,” according to those who’ve sat down with the men who are the government’s most-sought officials based on communications reports filed in the federal lobbying registry this year. The three most in-demand staffers are all policy advisers to ministers in important departments connected to Liberal […]
Goal of tax changes to ‘fix’ unfair system that encourages the wealthy to incorporate just for tax savings: Morneau
Finance Minister Bill Morneau is under the spotlight as the Trudeau government concludes its second year in office. After all, Mr. Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) is leading the introduction of contentious new reforms that would restrict the savings generated by incorporation. Most notably, the proposed changes, which have lit a powder keg among small business […]
Finance Committee prepping for 2018 budget gets an earful on tax changes: chair
A Liberal MP who chairs the House Finance Committee says concerns about the government’s proposed tax changes have been voiced “quite vividly” in almost every meeting during the committee’s ongoing listening tour to help it inform the 2018 federal budget. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.) said concerns about the Liberal government’s small-business tax changes have come […]
Finance
