Tax Cuts a Powerful Boost for Canadian Competitiveness, CCCE says

October 30, 2007

Comments by Thomas d’Aquino, Chief Executive and President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), on today’s federal Economic Statement:

“The significant corporate income tax cuts announced today by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will provide a powerful boost to Canada’s ability to compete for investment and jobs in the global economy.

“By giving Canada the lowest corporate tax rate among major industrialized countries and an advantage of more than 12 percentage points over the United States, this tax-cut plan will help companies to continue to invest and grow in Canadian communities despite the rapid rise of the Canadian dollar and intense global competition.

“The Canadian Council of Chief Executives agrees that the next step is for comparable action by provincial governments, and we strongly support the goal set by Minister Flaherty of a combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate of 25 percent.

“We support the federal government’s intention to work with provinces that still have retail sales taxes to adopt instead value-added taxes harmonized with the Goods and Services Tax. As Minister Flaherty noted, this would be the single most important action that these provinces could take to improve their ability, and that of Canada as a whole, to compete for new business investment.

“We also applaud the broad personal tax cuts announced by the government, as these will ensure that the benefits of strong business investment and the resulting economic growth will be shared by all Canadians.”