"If implemented,” the letter reads, "the proposals will restrict small business owners from sharing income with family members; limit certain forms of saving in the business, making the firm more vulnerable in bad economic times and less able to innovate and grow; and change capital gains rules which could make it more difficult for business owners to transfer their business to the next generation.”
"These proposals, while intended to target the wealthy, will hurt middle-class business owners from every sector of the economy. These are shopowners, farmers, doctors, financial planners, homebuilders and trades in all sectors — the entrepreneurial families who are the backbone of the economy and responsible for the majority of the job creation in Canada,” said Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and member of the coalition. "Our coming together highlights the urgency of combatting these proposals which, if legislated, would signify the biggest changes to the business tax system in decades.”