In its recently submitted pre-budget proposal to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, the Canadian Trucking Alliance promoted policies that would boost the economy and improve conditions for workers in the trucking industry.
On top of several environmental proposals – including suspending the carbon tax on diesel, CTA made a series of recommendations to bolster the economy and restore fairness in the tax system and labour market.
As the Bank of Canada has often noted, finding ways to increase productivity can help inoculate the economy against inflation. However, Canada’s productivity has been moving the wrong in recent years and continues to lag behind the US and other G7 countries.
“Our pre-budget really focused on the current state of business in this country, and proposes solutions that will better support Canadian businesses, especially trade enabling sectors and those with large economic multiplier effects, like trucking,” said Jonathan Blackham, CTA Director of Policy and Public Affairs. “We have heard from members that they believe it is time to correct course and bring back a tax system and business environment that incentivizes growth and ensures fair competition.”
CTA’s latest submission specifically asks that the Accelerated Investment Incentive (AII), which is set to be phased out, should be expanded and made permanent; and the small business deduction limit be raised from $500,000 to $700,000.
Furthermore, the tax system needs to be reviewed and bolstered to better support compliant companies and workers, namely increasing enforcement of employee misclassification and tax avoidance that fuels the Driver Inc scam in the trucking industry.
“It’s time to correct course and bring back a tax and regulatory system that incentivizes personal and business growth,” says Blackham. “Given trucking’s overall importance to Canada’s trade and GDP, we think it makes sense that trucking be one of the key sectors Government looks at to support economic growth.”