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In a blow to the political efforts of doctors to halt proposed tax changes that will hit their income, the Canadian Nurses Association has come out in favour of the government’s plan.

A statement posted Tuesday evening by the CNA, which represents about 139,000 registered nurses, said it supports the government’s “aim to achieve federal tax policy that treats all sources of income similarly and equitably, based on the principles of social justice.”

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The CNA is also encouraging its members to write to their local MP about the changes, mirroring a campaign by doctors to do the same in opposition to the proposal.

“CNA supports the proposed changes to the federal tax code which reasonably strengthen the rules on increasingly-popular but potentially unfair tax advantages for incorporated high income earners,” the statement says.

Unlike doctors, most registered nurses are salaried and unlikely to get much in the way of tax benefits from incorporating (though some nurses are self-employed). Doctors, by contrast, are considered independent contractors and get their income through fees regulated by provincial governments.

Barb Shellian, CNA’s president, said in an interview that registered nurses aren’t trying to provoke a confrontation with doctors, but have studied the government’s proposal and broadly support its aims.