Canada's Ashfield Concludes National 'Tax Cuts Tour'

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

01 February 2011

The Canadian Minister of National Revenue, Keith Ashfield has announced the conclusion of economic consultations across the country on tax relief and business development.

During these consultations, Minister Ashfield, and members of parliament on his behalf, met with local business owners, associations, and Chambers of Commerce to discuss matters important to the local business communities and job creators. They also took the opportunity to remind Canadians of existing measures in place to cut taxes.

In Atlantic Canada, Minister Ashfield held consultations in Fredericton, Miramichi, Campbellton, and Dartmouth that focused primarily on strengthening the Atlantic Canadian economy and keeping taxes low.

"Our government is committed to building strong local economies, which in turn build a strong Canada," said Minister Ashfield in Fredericton, meeting with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce. "We recognize that the success of Canada's economic future hinges on the strength of job-creating businesses. Through keeping taxes low, a commitment to cutting red tape, and encouraging investment in Canada, we are responding to the concerns of businesses of all sizes across the country to continue to create jobs and lead the economic recovery."

In Whitby Ontario, Colin Carrie, MP for Oshawa, met with local business and community leaders at Durham College to discuss their concerns about the current economic situation in the Oshawa area. He explained that employed tradespersons and apprentice mechanics can claim the Tradespersons’ Tools Deduction, which allows for the deduction of tool costs, up to CAD500 (USD500).

Wilbert Lai, Advisor and Former President of the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs, attended the consultation in Whitby and noted, "This dialogue is timely and important because we are coming out of a recession and edging into the beginning of a yet-to-be strengthened recovery. Our association would like to see the competitiveness of Canadian businesses maintained or improved and believe that a continued low tax level is important, including any tax incentive for high tech equipment investment for productivity improvement."

Lastly, in Saskatoon, James Rajotte and Kelly Block, MPs for Edmonton and Leduc, and Saskatoon, Rosetown and Biggar, respectively, met with representatives of the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce where roundtable discussions emphasized the importance of the consultation process with business owners and community builders.

"The discussion with the Minister's officials and attending members of Parliament provided an excellent forum to provide our feedback to the government of Canada on how to further build momentum in the Canadian economy and assist the government in providing even better service to Canadian businesspeople," Kent Smith-Windsor, Executive Director of the greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, said on the consultation.

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