Kelowna: Not surprisingly members of the Kelowna Chamber are overwhelmingly opposed to the proposed tax policy changes. The findings flow from a recently conducted poll of chamber members. The results fell into line with those of many small businesses surveyed nationally since the July government announcement.
Across the board, 86% of respondents said they were aware of the proposal. And 81% of those thought they would be negatively impacted by the proposed changes. Kelowna member businesses expressed dismay, anger, concern and heartfelt requests for the Feds to extend the consultation period on the proposed changes, and allow small businesses, farmers, incorporated professionals, and other affected business people a chance to tell their stories.
“We have been extremely active in the last month trying to ensure the voice of local businesses are heard at the national level but we didn’t want to miss an opportunity to engage and listen to the specific concerns of our members,“ says Dan Rogers, Kelowna Chamber Executive Director.
Here are a few comments we received:
“My husband’s small business employs 50 young adults in our community, who have young families and depend on their employment with his small business.”
“The impact on my business will be huge; it is my only source of income; I take a huge amount of risk with my business.”
“There are all kinds of extra burdens when you carry on a small business. Start-up costs, long hours, significant risks and uncertainty. When a person invests in a small business, often the entire family’s assets are at risk.”
The advocacy work being done by the Kelowna Chamber and chambers across the country is ensuring small businesses hear about the issue and react in advance of the October 2 consultation deadline. The Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness has come together with a unified voice over the past few weeks, now listing 55 members and growing. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is a leading member. An emergency resolution on the issue will also be brought before the Canadian Chamber AGM in Fredericton this coming weekend. It asks the government to shelve the plan and instead engage in a more reasonable consultation process with all Canadians that could be impacted by these massive changes.
The Kelowna Chamber has established a link on its website which gathers much of the background information and Chamber releases in one place: http://www.kelownachamber.org/advocacy/proposed-federal-tax-legislation/ .
For more information:
Tom Dyas, President, Kelowna Chamber of Commerce
tom@tdbenefits.ca