Executives from MaRS, Communitech and Invest Ottawa met with federal officials this week to recommend changes to the government’s planned increase in capital gains tax, after 60 per cent of entrepreneurs they surveyed said the policy would deter investment and innovation in Canada. Recommendations included extending “favourable” rates to employees with stock options and aligning Canada’s capital gains policies with the U.S. Qualified Small Business Stock. (The Logic)

Talking point: Just 5.3 per cent of survey respondents said Canada is the best place to grow a technology company. The tax changes to capital gains would make things worse, most respondents said. Some said the tax change is the breaking point, citing a series of disappointments from government programs meant to help the innovation ecosystem—including the pause on funding from its cleantech granting agency and the years-long delay in improving its R&D tax credit. MaRS CEO Alison Nankivell said the results underscore a need for “policies that ensure capital is a booster for entrepreneurial success, rather than a barrier,” as well as the need to fix other “underlying issues” like government procurement, housing affordability and attracting talent.