Flaherty to province: lower business taxes in budget

It may be a provincial budget that's coming out Tuesday afternoon but Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty seems pretty anxious to get in his word about what Premier Dalton McGuinty should be doing in it.  In a news conference this afternoon Flaherty urged the province to take his recommendations.

They include reducing business taxes that Flaherty says are the highest in Canada, eliminating capital taxes on all businesses, and harmonizing the retail sales taxes with the GST.

"The long-term benefits of these steps are well-known," says Flaherty.  "For every dollar in business tax reductions, $2.00 are generated in new investment."  Flaherty also told reporters "I will be the first person to stand up and congratulate Premier (Dalton) McGuinty if he reduces business taxes."

Flaherty says if those measures aren't taken, Ontario could be a "hanve-not" province within the next two to three years.

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