OTTAWA, ON – Today the Liberal government voted against its own platform promise by raising the small business tax rate to 10.5%, Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre said.

 

The Liberals’ 2015 election platform stated that the small business tax rate would be reduced to 9% (page 80) and current Liberal immigration minister John McCallum affirmed this decision during the election campaign. However, the Liberals’ budget implementation bill, C-15, increases the small business tax rate by 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% over the next three years.

 

MP Poilievre introduced an amendment to Bill C-15 which would have maintained the Conservatives’ small business tax cut, but the Liberals voted against it – and thus against their own platform. The Liberals’ broken promise will cost $900 million by 2019 according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

 

“Only a few months ago, the Liberals were elected on a promise to maintain the Conservatives’ tax reduction for small businesses,” Poilievre said. “Prime Minister Trudeau even directed his small business minister to ensure this reduction took place.”

 

“Yet, just a few months later, the Liberals broke their promise to small businesses by introducing legislation that would raise their taxes by 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% over the next three years,” said Poilievre. “I was willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt, so I moved an amendment to Bill C-15 that would have kept the Liberals’ promise. I gave the Liberal government the chance to correct their mistake, to agree that reducing taxes for small businesses was good for Canadian jobs and the economy,” Poilievre said. “Today they proved they are not willing to admit their mistake, and have broken yet another promise.”

 

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