OTTAWA, Feb. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) congratulates Members of Parliament (MPs) from all three major political parties for coming together to form an Entrepreneur Caucus. Today marked the inaugural meeting of the Caucus in Ottawa and included a presentation from CFIB on findings from a recent pre-budget survey and a list of recommendations for the 2013 budget.
"On behalf of Canada's small business community, I am thrilled that MPs are working to put aside political differences to focus on ways to support the country's two-million entrepreneurs," said CFIB president and CEO Dan Kelly. "CFIB was very proud to have a group of our top representatives - our President's Circle - meet with MPs today to share examples of national issues affecting small businesses across the country."
Based on survey data from small business owners, CFIB recommends 18 specific actions the federal government could take to assist entrepreneurs. CFIB's top six recommendations for Budget 2013 include:
- Freezing CPP/QPP premiums, because entrepreneurs can't afford to pay more;
- Extending the Employment Insurance hiring credit for small businesses and expand it to include businesses with up to $15,000 in EI premiums;
- Lowering the small business corporate tax rate;
- Indexing the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE) to inflation;
- Staying focused on eliminating the deficit by 2015/2016 or earlier; and
- Making further reforms to public sector pensions.
CFIB recommended the creation of an Entrepreneur Caucus and was pleased to receive support for the idea from Conservatives, New Democrats and Liberals. Conservative MP Chris Warkentin and New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault will co-chair the Caucus.
To read the full list of recommendations, Growing SMEs = Growing Economy, please visit www.cfib.ca.
As Canada's largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses, CFIB is Powered by Entrepreneurs™. Established in 1971, CFIB takes direction from more than 109,000 members in every sector nationwide, giving independent business a strong and influential voice at all levels of government and helping to grow the economy.
SOURCE: CANADIAN FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS
To arrange an interview with Dan Kelly, please call Gisele Lumsden at 416-222-8022 or by email at [email protected].
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