TORONTO: Canada’s federal government said on Monday it would cut the small business tax rate to 9 per cent from 10.5pc as it sought to counter a growing backlash against a July tax reform that targeted wealthy individuals and family businesses.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau appeared side-by-side in Toronto’s far suburbs to announce the tax cut, highlighting their desire to get past what has become a major stumbling block as the two-year-old Liberal government heads into the second half of its mandate.

“Powerful interests have benefited a lot from the current system, and they will fight hard to maintain the status quo. We knew that going in. But nothing will stop us from building an economy that works for more Canadians,” Trudeau said in a sometimes combative news conference.

While Trudeau has enjoyed a rosy profile on the world stage since winning a surprise majority in 2015, his long honeymoon at home has ended, curtailed by the bungled tax reform and the election of a younger, hipper opposition leader who could steal away vital votes at the next election.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017