Morneau listening to tax plan complaints, MacLauchlan says

A session with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on proposed tax changes was part of a meeting of Canada's premiers Tuesday, and P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan said Morneau is listening to complaints.

The proposed changes include eliminating income sprinkling among family members, stopping the practice of converting income to capital gains so it is taxed at a lower rate, and reducing the use of passive investments by private corporations.

Opponents of the plan have called it an attack on small business.

"Around the table there was a feeling that the finance minister has been listening, an indication that he does intend to come back with, both some clarity and some more precision, about what is caught by this," MacLauchlan told CBC's Island Morning on Wednesday.

In particular, he said, the P.E.I. government has been expressing concern about the impact on the intergeneration succession of family farms. Fishermen are increasingly incorporating, he added. Small businesses on the Island have also been expressing concerns about their ability to use corporations for planning parental leave or retirement.

On Tuesday, Morneau said there will be changes to the proposals. That would include ensuring the changes do not have an impact of the transfer of family farms to the next generation.

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