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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Morneau confirms Liberals seeking to eliminate more tax credits

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is looking to eliminate more tax credits as he prepares for the 2017 budget, a move that could simplify the tax code while also raising new revenue for a cash-strapped Liberal government.

The Finance Minister made back-to-back parliamentary-committee appearances Wednesday, one day after releasing a fall fiscal update that promised increases to infrastructure spending but also forecasted larger deficits due to slower economic growth.

Tax credits – which are officially called tax expenditures but are often referred to as boutique tax cuts because they can be targeted at specific segments of the population – are worth about $100-billion a year in foregone federal revenue.

The minister appointed a panel in June to review these credits, but he had been largely non-committal as to whether he intended to take further action on this front.

However, when asked directly during an appearance Wednesday before the Senate finance committee, Mr. Morneau confirmed that more changes are coming.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/morneau-confirms-liberals-seeking-to-eliminate-more-tax-credits/article32653689/

Young Canadians should get used to precarious employment: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says Canadians should get used to so-called “job churn” — short-term employment and a number of career changes in a person’s life.

Morneau made the comment on Saturday at a meeting of the federal Liberal Party’s Ontario wing, days before he’s scheduled to deliver a fall economic update.

The remark also comes just three days after the Bank of Canada delivered bad news for the economy, downgrading the country’s growth outlook yet again.

And when asked about precarious employment the finance minister told delegates that high employee turnover and short-term contract work will continue in young people’s lives, and the government has to focus on preparing for it.

“We also need to think about, ‘How do we train and retrain people as they move from job to job to job?’ Because it’s going to happen. We have to accept that,” Morneau said during a question-and-answer session.

Elsewhere in his presentation, Morneau noted that some people will see their jobs disappear in the years to come — truck drivers and receptionists, for instance.

Morneau said the government has to look at helping out with the “things underneath” disappearing or precarious work.

Source: https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/6925075-young-canadians-should-get-used-to-precarious-employment-finance-minister&source=gmail&ust=1477420787900000&usg=AFQjCNHJFHrKhKEZfW7Wm2uR9SFvatip4w

Canadian Gov’t Keeping Options Open On Digital Taxation

Canadian Heritage Minister Melanie Joly has said that she will discuss with the Finance Minister the potential application of a sales tax to foreign online services operating in the country.

During an interview with CTV News, Joly was asked whether the Government would force companies such as Netflix to pay into the Canada Media Fund that contributes to the production of Canadian content. She responded: “There will be no Netflix tax. This is a broader question: it’s about the participation of digital platforms to the system.”

In September, Joly launched a consultation on “Canadian Content in a Digital World.” Commenting on the consultation, Joly told CTV that the Government was “looking at all scenarios – certainly we want to engage with different digital platforms in the conversation and how they can support Canadian content.”

Pressed as to whether the Government could apply a sales tax for foreign online services operating in Canada, Joly replied that “this is a conversation of course that I will be having with the Minister of Finance Bill Morneau regarding sales tax.” She did however emphasize that this issue was “not necessarily under the purview of Canadian heritage – it’s much more under the purview of my colleague.”

Source: http://www.tax-news.com/news/Canadian_Govt_Keeping_Options_Open_On_Digital_Taxation____72512.html