The biggest tax changes in 40 years are being watered down.

CPA, CA Accountant Shawn Friesen explains the federal government has abandoned a number of proposals that had negative consequences, "they may not have realized... I don't think they foresaw a lot of this."

Small businesses vocally opposed the government's proposed changes earlier this summer, causing Finance Minister Bill Morneau to revise the proposal.

"It was really heartwarming to see a lot of people banded together from all walks of life across the country," Friesen explains.

"There was a lot of outcry... and at the start, they seemed to brush aside those concerns," he says, adding he was glad they finally listened, abandoning the surplus-stripping rules, and providing more guidelines on income-splitting.

However, local accountants and business owners are still working through the revisions to the proposed tax changes.

Friesen says they've since firmed up the confusion surrounding income-splitting and inter-generational business ownership transfers, making it easier for parents pass a business onto the next generation, "that was a big win," he says, though questions remain.

More details are expected when the federal budget is released later this year.

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