Plea to slash taxes
05/09/2008
As Canada's political parties gear up for a possible snap election, a prominent think tank urged federal and provincial governments to use their budget surpluses to continue cutting business taxes.
The Conference Board of Canada proposed six measures for business tax reform, including the complete elimination of capital taxes on investment and cutting corporate taxes to one of the lowest rates in the Group of Seven industrialized countries.
Canada is lagging in productivity growth and its companies are stunted by a strong currency, hindering investment and putting them at a disadvantage abroad, it said.
The Conference Board also endorsed a proposal put forth by the opposition Liberal Party to impose a "green tax" on carbon dioxide emissions, saying the revenue could finance the cuts.
