QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Temporary Tax Measures
November 28, 2024
Senator Gold, Bill C-78 is meant to give Canadians across the country a tax break and support affordability, but I believe it could hurt Atlantic Canadians. Provinces that have an HST agreement with the federal government will be unexpectedly losing out on millions of dollars. New Brunswick is projected to lose $62 million in revenue — money that is earmarked to be spent on provincial government programs to support New Brunswickers. Those funds will no longer be available to the province. Also, in response to the Maritime provinces expressing concerns, there have been no reassurances that we will be compensated for this unplanned shortfall.
Will Bill C-78 have the effect of reducing by more than 1% the total net provincial tax revenues in New Brunswick in a calendar year, meaning that the federal government will be required to compensate the province because of the HST agreement? Do you have the estimates from Finance Canada using the latest available data?
Thank you for your question.
No, I don’t have the estimates, but I am of the view that the governments that are affected, such as New Brunswick’s and others, and the federal government will be in discussions, if they are not already, with regard to this measure.
The bill has not yet been voted upon. It will be voted upon today, and we will be receiving it soon thereafter. We will be studying it and, I hope, passing it before we rise. In that regard, there’s time for those discussions to be completed so that all provinces are treated fairly.
Besides the federal government shortchanging New Brunswick, it’s adding a heavy administrative burden to small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs. They’re left scrambling to figure out how to implement these temporary measures. A recent survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shows that up to 65% of small businesses say there’s not enough time to implement the change, and they’re estimating that it will cost them a median of $1,000 to do so.
Did the federal government consult any small businesses or representative organizations prior to tabling the bill? How would you suggest small businesses should administer this, considering they only have two weeks to figure out how to do it?
Again, thank you for your question. There’s no doubt that administering this will take some time and effort. In some cases, it might entail additional person hours and therefore costs.
I’m not aware of the discussions that took place before it, but I am hopeful that all businesses will do their part to provide the assistance that this measure will give their customers and neighbours.
