Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

MPs on finance committee to discuss timing for changes to small business tax rules

Parliament Hill is seen in this photo taken on May 26, 2021. (Photo by Â鶹´«Ã½' Jeff Denesyk) Parliament Hill is seen in this photo taken on May 26, 2021. (Photo by Â鶹´«Ã½' Jeff Denesyk)
Share
Ottawa -

A parliamentary committee will hold a rare summer meeting next week about when Ottawa plans to change tax rules on the sale of small businesses between family members.

Conservative MP Larry Maguire's private member's bill passed amended the Income Tax Act so business owners could pass on companies to their children or relatives at the same tax rate as if they were selling to a stranger.

Maguire and others who backed the legislation said the change would no longer make it more expensive for someone to sell a family-owned small business to a relative.

The legislation received royal assent in late June just before the House of Commons broke for its summer recess, but didn't include a specific date for when it would come into force.

As a result, the Finance Department announced the government would bring forward legislation to clarify that the changes would apply starting Jan. 1, 2022.

The House of Commons finance committee will meet on Tuesday to grill department officials about the decision.

Conservatives say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is defying Parliament by not enacting the new rules.

"When this bill was passed by Parliament, only the Liberals voted against it. Now that it is signed into law, Trudeau is simply choosing not to implement it," reads a joint statement from Conservative small business critic Pat Kelly and Luc Berthold, who focuses on the Treasury Board.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has also called on the government to implement the rules immediately. The chamber says the legislative limbo is making it difficult for small business owners to effectively plan for their future.

MPs on the committee will also meet while federal party leaders gear up for an expected election call later this summer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2021.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

Ontario's police watchdog has decided there are no grounds to believe Sudbury police committed a crime during a difficult arrest in May where the suspect's neck was broken.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected