Canada’s Top Business Associations Unite in Call for Tax Cuts

September 28, 1999

Canada’s three leading business associations — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada and the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI) — today called for immediate and substantial federal tax cuts as an essential first step in a strategy for sustainable economic growth and social renewal.

The united message from the business community was endorsed enthusiastically by delegates and members of the Alliance and the Canadian Chamber at their simultaneous annual meetings.

The BCNI, Canadian Chamber and Alliance agreed that significant and broadly-based tax reductions must be the federal government’s top priority in the next budget and beyond. At the same time, they said lower taxes must be part of a comprehensive strategy to stimulate innovation, productivity, competitiveness, employment and incomes.

The three business groups stressed that the urgency of tax reduction requires the government to avoid new spending programs. And they said that in addition to giving priority to tax cuts in the next federal budget, the government must commit itself to a credible multi-year plan with an ambitious overall goal for bringing down personal income taxes, Employment Insurance premiums and corporate taxes.

Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer Perrin Beatty told his association’s annual meeting in London, Ontario that because of high personal taxes, “Canadians are feeling the impact of a slipping standard of living. As well, high rates of taxation are preventing Canada from retaining and encouraging the entrepreneurs and skilled people the country needs to remain internationally competitive.”

“Our central government still won’t admit that its current fiscal policy is placing an undue burden on every working Canadian, even though it now seems clear to everyone else,” said Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce at her association’s meeting in Edmonton.

“Let’s face it, the government collects more money from Canadians than it needs to run the country effectively. That’s why we have surpluses. Our members will not accept inflated spending levels simply to justify over-taxation,” said Ms. Hughes Anthony.

“Canada has made enormous strides in recent years by cutting inflation and interest rates, expanding exports and jobs and reducing government deficits, but the world has not stood still,” said Thomas d’Aquino, President and Chief Executive of the BCNI. “Complacency is now our greatest enemy. Canada faces an accelerating loss of key people, jobs and strategic assets if we fail to move quickly to consolidate our strengths and address our weaknesses. Early and significant tax cuts are essential if we are to achieve the healthy economic growth that we need to support and improve Canada’s enviable quality of life.”

The three business leaders concluded with a blunt message to the government: “All of our members have made it very clear that this issue will not go away.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada’s largest and most representative business association. It speaks for 170,000 members from every region of Canada through its unique network of chambers of commerce, boards of trade, associations and corporations.

The Alliance, Canada’s Leading Business Network, represents 75 percent of Canada’s manufacturing output and 95 percent of its exports. It was founded in 1996 as a result of the merger of the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association (CMA) and the Canadian Exporters’ Association (CEA).

The Business Council on National Issues is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization comprised of the chief executive officers of 150 leading Canadian enterprises. Their companies administer more than $2 trillion in assets, have a yearly turnover of more than $500 billion, employ about one in ten working Canadians and are responsible for a majority of Canadian private sector investment, exports, research and development and training.