Poilievre asks Liberal government to vote in favour of its own platform by maintaining small business tax reduction

OTTAWA, ON – Today the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for Carleton and Official Opposition Critic for the Treasury Board, is encouraging the Liberal government to vote in favour of its own platform by maintaining the Conservative tax reduction for small businesses.

“Today I am calling on the Liberal government to endorse their own platform from the previous fall’s election, by maintaining the Conservative tax reduction for small businesses,” said Poilievre.

The Conservative government passed legislation that reduced the small business tax rate by 0.5 percent per year, from 11 percent in 2015 to 9 percent by 2019. The Liberals’ budget implementation bill, Bill C-15, proposes to raise the small business tax rate by 0.5, 1, and 1.5 percent. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says this tax increase will cost small businesses $900 million by 2019. Poilievre introduced an amendment to Bill C-15, which is being debated today – Friday, June 3.

“There is a very simple amendment to Bill C-15: remove clause 34 and let the Conservative tax reduction continue, just as the Liberals said they would in their election platform and just as the small business minister was directed to do in her mandate letter,” Poilievre said. “To vote against my amendment would mean voting against their own platform.”

The Liberal platform states that the small business tax rate will be reduced to 9 percent (page 80) and current Liberal immigration minister John McCallum affirmed this decision during the election campaign.

“This is an opportunity for the Liberals to vote in favour of their own election platform and create jobs at the same time,” Poilievre concluded.

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