The Altona and District Chamber of Commerce doesn't like the tax changes the federal government is proposing and it's voicing its concerns through a letter to finance minister Bill Morneau.

The chamber's letter touches on the three different tax proposals that the federal government is spearheading, which the local chamber has concerns about. Those three areas include capital gains, income sprinkling and passive income.
    
"We really tried to include as much information as possible in the letter," said Stephanie Harris, general manager of the organization. "We consulted a lot of our local businesses and local organizations and the feedback on the letter has been extremely positive. They are happy to see that we are doing something and we're taking action with our small community, and it's great to see other businesses taking action and not just standing by to wait and see what happens."

At the heart of this issue is whether self-employed Canadians, such as small-business owners and farmers, should be able to continue incorporating and benefiting from special tax rules, or loopholes that other Canadians paying personal income taxes don't enjoy.

The current tax rules for self-employed people and business owners are intended to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and save for tough times. But the Liberals have said wealthy individuals are using the loopholes to decrease their tax bill and, in the process, boosting their take-home pay and personal savings. Those are the loopholes the government is proposing to close.

"We cannot allow our small businesses to fall under this umbrella which is aimed at the rich and wealthy. It's just not fair," said Harris.

The letter urges the Trudeau government to put their tax change proposals on hold, and allow for a thorough assessment to be conducted to determine how those changes will impact Canada's small business sector.

"Our business community is very concerned. There is so much about these changes that are unknown right now, and when we have tax experts come out to speak to our members, they admit that they don't even have all the answers right now.'"