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New Tax Proposals: What Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners Need to Know

The federal government may be undermining the climate for new venture investment

Proposed federal tax reforms now on the table are being touted as a fairer approach to tax policy. But from coast to coast, Canadian business professionals are concerned that the changes will damage the climate for new venture investment. The government’s plan to grandfather all wealth and tax new wealth differently, for example, would create a two-tiered system that would demotivate new entrepreneurs. And new rules for split income would increase complexity and uncertainty and threaten to clog the tax courts when they are already overwhelmed.

This comes at a time when other countries — notably the U.S. — are making it more attractive to set up shop. In a competitive global marketplace for investment, is Canada in danger of being left behind?

In this webinar, Smith School of Business experts Patrick Legresley and Jason Skilnick discuss how entrepreneurs and small business owners may be affected by the federal government’s tax proposals and how they can prepare for the new regime.

Participants will learn about:

  • The tax climate in Canada for new business
  • How Canada fits in with global trends in business taxation
  • Key provisions that most small business owners and entrepreneurs must be aware of
  • What business owners should consider under the new tax regime
  • The macro impact of these trends on small businesses that are competing against large public companies and nonresident-owned private companies.

Session Participants

Patrick Legresley

CPA, CA, Director of Finance, Smith School of Business

Patrick Legresley CPA, CA is director of finance at Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and an adjunct financial accounting lecturer in the school’s Commerce program. Prior to joining Smith, Patrick worked for KPMG in Kingston. During his time at Smith, he spent five years with the Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards, a program that recognized not-for-profit organizations for transparency in financial reporting. He is currently a board member of the United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington.

Jason Skilnick

CPA, CA, Partner, Collins Blay

Jason Skilnick is Partner at Kingston-based accounting firm Collins Blay and teaches in the Commerce program at Smith School of Business. Jason leads the tax group at Collins Blay, which provides full-service tax solutions that include corporate reorganizations, trust and estate planning, business succession planning, GST/HST, cross-border taxation, and partnerships. After graduating from Queen’s University, he spent 10 years with a national accounting firm in Toronto, where he obtained his CPA and CA designations.