But not any more since the governing party is proposing tax changes for businesses.
“I’m a liberal and a tax cheat. And, I just didn’t know it,” said Burgoyne on Friday morning at the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce’s open house on the proposed tax changes.
“As of right now, Sean. You’ve lost my vote,” continued Burgoyne from a microphone in front of more than 300 people who attended the event at the Prince Edward Delta.
The owner of A~M Burgoyne Insurance Associates Inc. for the past 29 years was directing his comments toward Charlottetown MP Sean Casey, who joined the open house from Ottawa via Skype.
“To say I’m mad would be an extraordinary understatement,” Burgoyne said.
Besides Casey, other panellists at the event included tax professionals Jennifer Dunn (BDO Canada) and Paul Deighan (Grant Thornton) as well as Kim Green and Roddy Willis, owners of Kays Wholesale and Island Chemical.
The tax professionals provided an overview of the proposed changes and the potential implications to business owners and professionals.
The proposed changes were introduced in a July 18 consultation paper. They include income sprinkling among family members in a business, the use of passive income and converting business income to capital gains.
Willis talked about leaving a private sector job with Green to go into business for themselves and the “sleepless nights” when they started out. He said with harmonized sales tax, corporate and personal income tax, the couple pays about $2.5 million a year.
Also, the couple contributes $10,000 to local charities, including hockey and baseball tournaments. But if the changes go through, the charity contributions will be affected, Willis said.
“I do think there should be tax incentives for small business. We need these things to continue to be positive contributors to the economy.”
He added that the companies’ employees could also be affected if the proposed changes go through.
Besides Burgoyne, other speakers included Cameron Beach, owner of Canadian Tire and Ian MacPherson of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. MacPherson noted that the proposed change involving selling a business to a family member could open the door to foreign ownership of fishing licences by third parties.
After the town hall, Burgoyne said he is concerned about the tax change that would make it cost more to sell the business to his sons rather than a third party.
“The family succession plan I had is gone. What do I do?” he asked.
Another son, a doctor in Nova Scotia, is considering moving to the U.S. because of the proposed changes.
Casey reminded the crowd that the proposals are not “cast in stone” and said that the matter will eventually be voted on in the House of Commons and brought before the Senate. Casey said he expects the matter to be raised on Tuesday during Question Period by the Conservative Party.
He added that the point of the consultation process was to find the “unintended consequences” of the proposed changes and “fix them” before legislation is put in place. This included whether the proposed changes “are or are seen” as too broad to include small businesses.
“This isn’t the last word. And, it’s my hope and expectation that government will take your advice and will alter course. So, in two words – stay tuned,” he said.
The consultation period on the proposed tax changes ends on Monday, Oct. 2.
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