Mr. Speaker, I encourage the Minister to bring those discussions within the life of the 17th Assembly. I’m looking forward to it.
Capital tax which is applied on a corporation paid-up capital is a stable revenue stream and is another form of tax that most provinces and territories levy while the NWT does not. According to the GNWT’s own analysis from the Department of Finance, a tiny 0.3 percent tax on paid-up capital of large corporations would net $12 million in annual revenues. Keep in mind that in the past 10 years, federal corporate income taxes have been reduced from 22 to 15 percent. This gap leaves a significant revenue-raising opportunity for GNWT.
Can the Minister indicate to this House why his department has refused the implementation of such a taxation model?