{"id":34541,"date":"2024-05-06T16:04:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T20:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34541"},"modified":"2024-05-06T16:04:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T20:04:34","slug":"capital-gains-increase-concerns-chamber-following-federal-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/capital-gains-increase-concerns-chamber-following-federal-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital gains increase concerns Chamber following Federal budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since its presentation on April 16, the Federal Government\u2019s 2024 Budget has received mixed reviews from community organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a recent poll suggests Canadians almost equally divided on whether the financial blueprint for the year ahead is good or bad, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce has raised some concerns on behalf of members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe recent Canadian budget’s adjustment to capital gains inclusion rates has sparked concerns among businesses and investors regarding the potential effect it may have on business,\u201d said Sandra Ferri, President & CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. \u201cBy increasing the inclusion rate from 50 per cent to 66.67 per cent, the government aims to generate additional revenue but risks dampening investment enthusiasm and entrepreneurial activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigher taxes on capital gains could disincentivize risk-taking and long-term investments, potentially stifling economic growth and innovation. Furthermore, this move might deter foreign investment and talent, impacting Canada’s competitiveness on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBalancing fiscal goals with fostering a conducive business environment will be crucial for Canada’s economic resilience in the post-pandemic era. The fact that the Canadian debt is growing faster than the economy is also a concern for businesses. To ensure a sustainable future, Canada needs innovation and increased productivity to grow the economy, and to do this we need Canadian and foreign investments to grow business opportunities.  Canada must be seen on the global stage as a country with a welcoming business environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MP Leah Taylor Roy, a member of the Liberal government, said the matter of capital gains is the \u201cbiggest source of confusion and concern right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs most business owners know, one of the most important things right now is ensuring that inflation stays down so interest rates can come down,\u201d said MP Taylor Roy. \u201cThat meant we needed to find revenue to offset some of the expenses in this budget in general for some of these really strong programs that promote growth and also fairness. This is really a budget about fairness and asking people who are able and making big profits off of the sale of businesses or secondary homes, or stocks and bonds \u2013 or whatever investments they have, whatever capital gains, to pay a little bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the average person, most people don\u2019t incur more than $250,000 of capital gains in a year. That\u2019s rare. When they do, there will be a small increase. One example was a couple who owns a cottage. If they sell it for a $500,000 profit, there is no extra capital gains. If they sell it for a $1 million profit, there is about a $35,000 \u2013 $37,000 increase in capital gains on a million-dollar profit. It is something, but I don\u2019t think when people see the numbers going from 50 \u2013 60 per cent, I don\u2019t think it is quite as impactful, perhaps, when some people are seeing those numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada, she says, is \u201cone of the few countries\u201d that doesn\u2019t tax gains on primary residences and that\u2019s not the direction the government is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you look at the overall tax picture for even a small and medium business owner and compare it with other places they could live \u2013 both having a home and having a business \u2013 they are still better off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the issue of the deficit, MP Taylor Roy said most countries have debt and deficits, but it is all in how they are addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the old theory that the Conservatives subscribe [to, the approach] that we should have no deficit and we should be bringing down the debt constantly. You have to be fiscally prudent and that is why we put in that increase in capital gains because we have to keep our numbers in line with what credit rating agencies are looking for and what our central bank is looking for, and what multinational bodies like the IMF is looking for. When you look at those three parameters, we are one of the only countries to still have a Triple A credit rating. Our government\u2019s cost to borrowing is less than the United States and our debt to GDP ratio is still lower and the lowest of the G7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike any company, you invest in things that are going to give you a good return and we\u2019re investing in things that make sense. We need to be building more homes for Canadians. We get a lot of tax revenue when these homes are being built, it creates jobs, people have places to live so they can stay in the country close to where they want to work\u2026. That generates revenue as well. We\u2019re investing in child care and that\u2019s a huge one. If you look at some of the studies that were done that shows a return on our investment, which is what is important \u2013 it is not just that you\u2019re spending money, it\u2019s that you\u2019re going to get a good return for your investment. The childcare program was estimated by I think it was RBC\u2026 you\u2019re getting back at least $2 for every dollar invested from increased productivity and other measures\u2026. We\u2019re investing because we believe in the future of this country. We believe in Canadians and we know that we have everything we needed in this country to do really well in the future if we make the right investments. Businesses don\u2019t always have the same big picture that the government does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While taxes and debt have garnered a lot of attention since the Budget was first introduced, there are other items and investments MP Taylor Roy says will be a boon to communities like Aurora, such as the investment in the Futurepreneur Canada program which will help 6,000 young entrepreneurs start and scale up businesses, as well as the School Food Program, which will help level the playing field for students, the national Dental Plan, and 30-year mortgages for first-time home-buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are going to bring down those monthly costs and allow people to perhaps buy a home where before they couldn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cOn that same home\u2026there is also allowing people who have been renting to use their rental record to count towards their credit score for their mortgage application. I think that is going to help numerous people who need that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had in place already the Child Care program, but I think for young families in Aurora, it has made an immense difference and that is continued to be financed through this budget. We put a lot of money into creating new spaces because the demand is so high. That is going to help people. For a lot of young families I\u2019ve spoken with, their monthly expenses have come down $600 – $800 a month. That is huge and if you have more than one child it is even bigger than that. I think families are looking at it now and thinking, they may be able to afford another child, if they want, or they may be able to put that money into buying a home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since its presentation on April 16, the Federal Government\u2019s 2024 Budget has received mixed reviews from community organizations. As a recent poll suggests Canadians almost equally divided on whether the financial blueprint for the year ahead is good or bad, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce has raised some concerns on behalf of members. \u201cThe recent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8Z7","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-14 12:54:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}