Can we phase-in tax changes or grandfather certain professions?

Elizabeth May

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance.

I had eight town halls recently in my riding and, not surprisingly, heard from many constituents on concerns about the proposed tax changes. One young doctor made a point that I have not heard from others. If we look at the demographics of how many doctors are near retirement, and how they have structured their income and practice around the tax laws as they have been for decades, his fear is that we might have an unintended consequence of tax changes in a doctor shortage as many doctors near retirement might decide to retire early. My question to the minister is: Can we phase-in tax changes or grandfather certain professions?

Bill Morneau – Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, we understand that getting to a fair tax system, a system that does not encourage people to incorporate so that they pay a lower tax rate than middle-class Canadians, requires understanding the specifics of different cases. I appreciate the member bringing forward this idea. We are certainly listening to people to make sure we get this right.

We are making sure that, as move forward, we grandfather existing amounts, which is important. We will also make sure to consider how to best move forward in a way that gets to our objective while considering the ongoing goal of investing in our economy.