Small business owners have been hammering the federal government over its proposed changes to tax policies, but a new poll says Canadians, particularly here in Alberta, are in support of the update.
The poll, published by Mainstreet Research, says that a lot of people feel something needs to be done to close some tax loopholes that are being exploited by small business owners.
Back in July, the federal government announced changes to stop people from using private companies to set up their own tax bills.
Before the changes, business owners could save money by paying family members as employees, use companies to stash income and pass earnings off as capital gains which are taxed at a lower rate.
Business owners are against the changes, saying that they would make it impossible for them to pass on their business to their children.
In the poll, 40 percent of Albertans say that the loopholes are a big problem, as opposed to seven percent of respondents who said they aren’t.
But those polled also said that small businesses are taxed too much right now.
The Trudeau government has since launched a 75-day consultation process, scheduled to wrap up at the end of October.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce is asking business owners to weigh in on its own poll.
In August, the Chamber launched an online survey on the proposed changes.
