Finance committee  I've written extensively about this and have been quoted a lot in the media about it. The short answer is that there's a much better way to support media than through the tax system. I think we have a media credibility problem in Canada as it is. To have our tax system, already compounded with huge amounts contributed to the CBC, used to fund otherwise private businesses—notwithstanding that this is an important part of a democracy—is foundationally wrong.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Bill C-30. As introduced, I'm Kim Moody. I'm a CPA and the CEO of Moodys Tax Law and Moodys Private Client in Calgary, Alberta, although I'm in snowy Edmonton today. I have a long history of serving the Canadian tax profession in a variety of leadership positions, including chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, co-chair of the joint committee on taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and CPA Canada, and chair of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, to name a few.

Finance committee  Well, I think the short answer is “no”. How do you vote on something when you don't really know what the plan is? I agree with Mr. Wudrick as well that we need a budget. We need a plan. That's why I used the simplistic example of Mr. Apple and Mr. Orange. One of them has a plan and one doesn't.

Finance committee  I'll just say that I'm not an economist. I'm a tax expert. I've spent many years studying tax, and I practise tax. I will say that after talking to my economist friends, I do think there's a concern about inflationary pressures. Am I the guy to ultimately say with certainty that this opinion is right?

Finance committee  Sure. I can't disagree. Canadians really want to see where this money is going. I've tried to piece the puzzle together and I just can't. It's shocking to me to see how much money is going out the door. I do agree that a lot of it was necessary, for sure, at the front end, but there need to be accountability and transparency.

Finance committee  I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Wudrick, and I wholeheartedly dismiss, for a whole variety of good logic, the assertion that trickle-up economics works, that there are tax loopholes to close down and that we can just go offshore and grab all that money. That's nonsensical and it just will not work as a way to deal with this increased ceiling, and I hope it's not increased spending.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, committee members. Happy St. Patrick's Day. I see some of you are wearing green, so I hope it's a great day. Thank you for the opportunity to appear to discuss to Bill C-14. My name is Kim Moody. I'm a chartered professional accountant and the CEO and director of Moodys Tax Law and Moodys Private Client in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

Finance committee  That's a great question. I know we're short on time here, but the legislation is frighteningly complex. It is some of the most complex legislation I have ever seen, but it's deceptively simple to apply for. Click, click, click, click, click online—boom!—get your money. A lot of business owners who do that are quite mistaken, and some of them who have done that are now frightened.

Finance committee  In the short term?

Finance committee  In the immediate short term, I'm glad to see that the wage subsidy has been extended. I think the government should be open to continuing that beyond June if need be. That's number one. Number two, which won't be popular among certain...but I do think a reduction of the corporate tax rate for employers would be helpful in the short term to encourage employment.

Finance committee  The continuation of the wage subsidy and rental subsidy will certainly help, but non-budgetary matters, such as quickly approving resource projects and accelerating permitting time for construction projects would greatly assist the acceleration of employment. From the perspective of my home province of Alberta, it's my belief that Bills C-48 and C-69 should be repealed, which would go a long way to restoring foreign investor confidence back in our oil and gas sector.

Finance committee  That's a great question. Yes, I did criticize the CERB. I'm on record for stating that. In a perfect world, I would love to see the wage subsidy and the rental subsidy simplified, but I do sympathize with the Department of Finance in how they wanted to target it. There's a reason why there hasn't been as much pickup in the wage subsidy.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  I'm sorry. When you say “gaps”, can you maybe enlighten me? What do you mean by that?

Finance committee  That's a good point. Thank you for clarifying that. I think all measures should be on the table to look at, actually, including revenue raisers and targeted revenue raisers, but not without a complete review of how we currently tax and administer our system and what is taxed. I think austerity measures should also be on the table.