Surrey and 91原创 business representatives came to a consensus at Thursday night鈥檚 鈥淭ax Fairness Consultation,鈥� hosted by Cloverdale-91原创 City MP John Aldag.

According to the business owners who spoke at the meeting, the proposed changes to the tax system put forward by Finance Minister Bill Morneau to 鈥渆nd tax loopholes in July should not be supported.

The changes include cutting back on 鈥渋ncome sprinkling,鈥� which is when business owners shift a part of their income to family members through salary or dividends.

The plan also puts an end to 鈥減assive investment income,鈥� which is described by the federal government as when an individual holds money inside a corporation 鈥渘ot to invest it in growing the business, but simply to shield it from the higher personal tax rate.鈥�

The view expressed by the business owners in the room, who would be affected by the proposed changes directly, was that they were being targeted unfairly.

The Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, which hosted Thursday鈥檚 session in partnership with Aldag, has not released a statement regarding the proposed tax changes. However, the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce has started a letter writing campaign, along with dozens of 91原创 small business owners, urging the government to scrap the proposed changes.

The solutions offered by Thursday鈥檚 attendees ranged in scope and detail, but the speakers agreed that the federal government should scrap the proposed changes and start over.

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Aldag, who hosted the session in partnership with the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, began the session by apologizing for the rhetoric that has surrounded the proposal since it was announced in July.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to me to say, and I鈥檝e said this to our Prime Minister and our Financial Minister, I think our government got the messaging on this wrong, right out of the gate.鈥�

鈥淲hen we start off with really inflammatory language, saying that [businesses] are not paying their fair share of taxes, or that people are tax cheats, I find that really offensive, and that鈥檚 not the way to start the discussion. I apologize for that.鈥�

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In the preamble to , it says the changes will be a 鈥渄ecisive action鈥� to improve the fairness of the tax system, and that the proposed measures will prevent 鈥渦nderground economic activity, tax evasion, and aggressive tax avoidance.鈥� The measures, it continues, will 鈥渃lose tax loopholes that result in tax advantages for some at the expense of others.鈥�

One speaker, who identified himself as a farmer from south Cloverdale, said that the rhetoric misrepresented the situation and contributed to a 鈥減olitics of envy,鈥� in which the federal government set wage workers against the owners of small businesses.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to pit the people that have a lower income against the people who seem to have more, but all they鈥檙e looking at is a snapshot of where they are at that moment. They鈥檙e ignoring the 30 years it took to get there, and the grief and the risk it took to get there,鈥� he said.

Chartered Professional Accountant Shane Schepens shared how the changes would affect him and his business partner, his wife, who has shared the stress and the risk of owning a business with him every step of the way.

Schepens explained that he and his wife have spent the last few years putting in long days and taking financial risks in order for their business to succeed. The two mortgaged their house and 鈥渄epleted bank accounts,鈥� among other personal sacrifices.

Everything, he said, went into building their business and they are 鈥渏ust starting to see the fruit of it now.鈥�

鈥淎nd now the government says that I can鈥檛 reimburse my wife for some of that pain,鈥� he said, referring to the changes to the laws surrounding income sprinkling. 鈥淚鈥檝e been a CPA for long enough to know that [Canada Revenue Agency鈥檚] view on spousal labour is zero.鈥�

鈥淪o the fact that my wife works a couple hours a night, [as well as the fact that] she鈥檚 my confidante, she鈥檚 my business partner, she is everything to me and every major decision gets run by her 鈥� to CRA she鈥檇 be worth zero.鈥�

Jas Salh, who works as an investment advisor in Surrey, said that there should be no comparison between a business owner and a salaried employee.

鈥淎 person on a $100,000 salary gets a pension, all the benefits and the perks, and gets to go home at night, whereas the person that is in maybe a corporation takes on the risk,鈥� said Salh.

鈥淲hen are you going to say enough is enough and that you鈥檙e going after the wrong people?鈥� she asked.

Dave Hayer, former MLA of Surrey-Tynehead, agreed. 鈥淚 have never seen people so angry about the tax changes,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he people who are advising you are making huge mistakes,鈥� he continued, addressing Aldag. 鈥淲hat you鈥檙e saying, that this is helping the middle class, is not the reality. You鈥檙e hurting the middle income [class].鈥�

As for cracking down on passive income, Schepens said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 great that your government is saying that people have to save for their retirement. Well, that鈥檚 what small business owners have been doing through their companies.鈥�

鈥淭o say that passive income is now dirty income, effectively, 鈥� it鈥檚 just wrong in my opinion.鈥�

Rebecca Smith, executive director of Surrey Hospice Society, agreed that the changes were a step in the wrong direction and that they were pitting business owners and employees against each other.

Instead, she said, the government should look at where 鈥渢he tax failure, the fraud and the tax evasion is happening.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 in multinational [corporations], it鈥檚 in tax havens,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hat we need to do is look where our economy is built,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淚t is on the backs of entrepreneurs. Our small and mid-sized businesses are driving our economy, driving our charity sector, and are successfully supporting the lives of everyone in our community.鈥�

鈥淭he last thing I want to do and the last thing our government wants to do is impact the ability of small businesses to succeed,鈥� said Aldag, referring back to his opening remarks, in which he said small business was the 鈥渓ifeblood of our local economy.鈥�

鈥淭here are perceived imbalances in the playing field that the current tax system creates,鈥� he said. 鈥淩eally that鈥檚 the essence of what we鈥檙e trying to get at here, is how do we create a more balanced tax system?

I really do not believe that we鈥檙e going to force these changes through without listening to Canadians, and understanding what the implications are. If I thought that, I wouldn鈥檛 be standing in front of you today, getting your feedback,鈥� he said.

Aldag said he would combine the session鈥檚 feedback with the feedback he received at a town hall held in 91原创 on Tuesday, and send it as a package to Trudeau and Morneau.

To learn more about the proposed changes, and to provide feedback, click .

With files from Monique Tamminga