Oliver to Lower Business Tax Cuts after Balanced Budget

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver has promised to work on further lowering business taxes once the federal budget is balanced next year. Addressing the audience on the first stop of a four-city speaking tour at Halifax this week, Oliver alleged that the government’s efforts to lower the tax bill for businesses has translated into making Canada a more attractive place to invest and increased jobs growth.

In his prepared speech, Oliver stated that “taxes absorb dollars that could otherwise be reinvested to grow a business, hire more locals and give Canadians more of what we want and need.” He added that “that is why, when we return to a balanced budget, we will be looking at ways to provide additional tax relief.” Corporate tax cuts are one of the primary objectives of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s economic policy since taking power in 2006, along with international trade agreements and efforts to build energy infrastructure. The government’s promise to bring down Canada’s corporate income tax rate from above 22 percent to 15 percent was among their key issues in the 2011 election campaign that gave the governing Conservatives a majority.

On the other hand, the leader of the main opposition New Democratic Party, Thomas Mulcair, has promised to increase corporate tax rates to fund social programs if he took power. According to him, the cuts largely benefit the country’s largest companies only. Whereas, Oliver said today that the government’s main priority once the budget is balanced will be to lower taxes for “hardworking Canadian families.”