Thank you.

Hello, my name is Larry Stefanec. I'm 50 years of age and work as a plumber and a business owner in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thanks for allowing me to be a witness at this committee.

I do not reside in a Liberal riding currently. However, I did reach out to the elected Liberals in Manitoba and my elected MP, Marty Morantz. Marty returned my call and although he did not promise I would be a witness, he directed me to this forum to share my thoughts.

Thanks very much. It was nice meeting you, Marty.

I see that Terry Duguid is online, which is great because he's a Manitoba Liberal. Hopefully, I can talk to him sometime after this meeting.

I'm having a hard time understanding why the current capital gains tax is being increased. I started my career in 1992 at the age of 19 as an apprentice plumber working in B.C. I was a journeyperson by 1996. I continued to work and evolved into a supervisor and a manager of a large company until relocating to Manitoba in 2003. Once in Winnipeg, I found employment at a small, six-person service company that I ended up purchasing in 2010.

Since then, we have slowly grown and currently employ and support 20 people and their families.

Being a worker in the private sector all my life, I soon realized two main things. The harder I work, the better future I would have. Nobody is helping me and my family, so I'd better figure out things for myself, including savings and investments.

Part of this future pension investment, by design, was to look at the current tax implications in order for me to be financially safe into my retirement. This was not without risk. I had to purchase a business, hire employees, manage my finances and balance a family.

I have been lucky enough to align myself with professionals smarter than me to design a structure of investment so I can create my own pension plan. I understand that we all have to pay our share. I could live with a 50% capital gain structure, but now I hear it's going up to 66%, for no reason other than the government needs more money. I'm just a regular, everyday person who happens to be a plumber running a business and trying to live a good life. Why am I being penalized for hard work?

I just do not understand how the current Liberal government got so out of touch with the people. I sit as a board member on the Mechanical Contractors Association of Manitoba. I also belong to a local entrepreneurs group. There's chat around the table. Why can't the government realize that we're not rich people? I'm a small, hard-working business owner just living next door.

I have to ask the question to myself, why did I work so hard? Why did I risk it all to buy a business? Why didn't I stay a worker, sole proprietor? That way I would be somehow treated differently. What would be the incentive going forward to the younger generation?

If I was a coach or a mentor to a younger, up-and-coming generation, I would have to say to them to work harder and you can pay more taxes because the government isn't smart enough to make things more efficient, trim waste and self-innovate. You should look elsewhere to make sure you're living in a place that respects your hard work and a government that realizes an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

At the end of the day, I really think the people we elected should rethink this decision and roll it back. I am frustrated. I feel that this is a quick shot from the hip, with no thought for regular, everyday people like myself.

Thank you for listening. I really hope this makes a difference.