Farmers Union president says tax changes won’t affect most farms
Posted Sep 22, 2017 12:40 pm.
Last Updated Sep 22, 2017 12:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Proposed income tax act changes aimed at collecting corporation revenues will not affect the majority of farmers in Canada, according to the president of the National Farmers Union.
Jan Slomp says the federal government is targeting loopholes and sheltered profits with these changes, which don’t apply to 75 per cent of the farming population because they aren’t incorporated.
“I think this whole hype about farmers being taxed more, that’s the premise, that’s false.”
He does have some suggestions for the changes, as currently there is a one million dollar lifetime capital gains exemption when passing the farm on to the next generation.
“If the next generation has to take over the farm for the full commercial value, they have an impossible task,” said Slomp. “Given the extreme increases in land value, I think that needs to be adjusted upwards so that there is room for a next generation to get started and a retiring generation to retire.”
Slomp says the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and other corporate-funded think tanks focus on the elite one per cent.
“And it is not affecting farmers. Well, it might affect a few individual farmers, but they have plenty of revenue to pay those taxes as the taxes were meant to be paid.”
Slomp adds that taxes need to be collected where they are due.
