Trudeau sticks to small-business tax shelter claim

Thestar.com
Sept. 9, 2015
By Bruce Campion-Smith

Justin Trudeau is refusing to back away from his charge that many small businesses are, in fact, tax shelters for wealthy Canadians.

In an interview with CBC News that aired Tuesday, the Liberal leader said that some “tweaking” was needed to address how some small businesses are using the tax system.

“We have to know that a large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes, and we want to reward the people who are actually creating jobs, and contributing in concrete ways,” he told interviewer Peter Mansbridge.

“So there’s a little tweaking to do around that,” he said.

But pressed about his response during two campaign stops Wednesday, Trudeau stuck to his guns, saying that studies supported his claim.

“There are a number of studies out there,” Trudeau said.

“Some have shown that it’s upwards of 50 per cent where it’s high net worth individuals who incorporate - professionals for example - who actually use it to avoid paying as high taxes as they otherwise would,” he said during a campaign stop here in the Alberta capital.

He said the Liberals are committed to lowering the tax rate for small businesses, but only for those who truly deserve it.

“We want to focus on helping small business owners who are working hard, who are creating jobs,” Trudeau said.

“We are committed to evidence-based policies and I will make no apologies for that,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau offered no regrets for how he cast the issue in his CBC interview. Instead, he said he “doesn’t worry too much about how my opponents may choose to attack me on a given statement.”

Trudeau’s original remarks sparked a quick reaction from rival political camps.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said that small- and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of this economy.

“This is somebody running to be prime minister who thinks that a large percentage of small businesses are tax scams. I mean, seriously,” Harper said Wednesday.

The NDP called on Trudeau to apologize for “smearing small-business owners as tax cheats.”

“He simply doesn’t understand the reality facing mom-and-pop shops - hard-working, small-business owners who create the vast majority of new jobs,” said Andrew Cash, the NDP candidate in the Toronto riding of Davenport.