Taxes, taxes, taxes

June 22

Someone once said that the wages of sin is death, but once taxes are taken out, you just feel a little anemic.

All elections have the taxation policy as an issue. This one is no exception. It is often the key issue in the campaign, and rarely is it granted the concern that it warrants. I recall the mid-term election in the United States in 1982. I remember asking a co-worker if he thought apartheid in South Africa was an issue that would affect the outcome. "In the U.S. all politics are local" he said "we really don't give a bleep about South Africa. Get our taxes down any way you can, and keep our access to capital affordable". In Canada we tend to have a little more perspective...or at least we did.

Tax policy requires looking at the spending promises of government. They have been tossing billions around like drunken sailors over the past 30 days. I always shiver when I see NDP talk continuously about taxing corporations. Capital moves too freely to exercise that option, and as admirable as it may seem it would harm us in today's economy. I do like their political will to see through certain social spending in regards to assisting the less fortunate. I think we would save in the long run if we have the fortitude to stick with some of those programs. Liberal tax policy we know. We have had Paul Martin for 10 years, and as tough as it was, it seems solid. We have heard all the promises about social spending and military contributions, and I'm not sure that we can maintain the surplus given those promises. The tax policy of the Conservatives seems far too good to be true. That's because it's not. The numbers don't add up, even according to some right-wing institutions. Reducing tax rate for mid-income by 25 per cent, transferring 3 cents from gas tax to provinces, registered savings plan for tax-free withdrawal, raising tax thresholds, threshold GST elimination taxes on gasoline -- I simply cannot see this being well thought out. It's U.S. trickle-down theory, and history has shown us what actually trickles down to the less fortunate is not benefits.

We have just come through 10 years of tax off loading on the provinces, and then to municipal units. There is a limit to that if you wish to maintain some level of Parliamentary sovereignty within the nation. The Liberals have gone far enough on that route. The Conservatives seem content to become a national collection and banking system for the provinces, and the NDP appear to be on the other extreme. Canadians want strong national programs and the funding to implement them within the constitutional framework of the country. Scattering the herd of provinces in the global economy is an abdication of a national dream, and a recipe for disaster, one I fear that we will never recover from if instituted.