Libs: "Let's raise the GST"
I actually agree with Jason Cherniak on this one... thinking about re-rasing the GST is a political death wish. But, hey guys, by all means, go for it! ;-)
It's really simple... by rasing the GST to pay for broad based income tax cuts, you are rasing taxes on the poorest of the poor, in an effort to lower taxes on the middle class by a few bucks per year. People who earn below a certian dollar figure per year don't pay income tax, period. BUT, they do pay GST... admittedly, not much, but they still pay it on a lot of things. So, by rasing it even one point back to where it was, you are effectively increasing their taxes, simply to pass on that money to people in a higher tax bracket than they are. Yea... THAT will go over well.
Let's put another way... Dion: "Monsieur Layton, we give a couple of seats for you in Toronto and Vancouver... we do not needed them anyway."
It's really simple... by rasing the GST to pay for broad based income tax cuts, you are rasing taxes on the poorest of the poor, in an effort to lower taxes on the middle class by a few bucks per year. People who earn below a certian dollar figure per year don't pay income tax, period. BUT, they do pay GST... admittedly, not much, but they still pay it on a lot of things. So, by rasing it even one point back to where it was, you are effectively increasing their taxes, simply to pass on that money to people in a higher tax bracket than they are. Yea... THAT will go over well.
Let's put another way... Dion: "Monsieur Layton, we give a couple of seats for you in Toronto and Vancouver... we do not needed them anyway."
posted by Christian Conservative @ 1:31 p.m.
1 Comments:
At Fri May 18, 05:27:00 p.m. EDT,
Oliver said…
I've read on a couple of other blogs some positive reaction on the idea. I think your point is accurate in that it will hurt the poor more than it will help, and the middle class will not be discernably affected.
I would add one other thought too. Income tax is a reality and will not ever go away in Canada. It is something that is inevitable in Canadians' eyes. The GST is not inevitable. Most Canadians remember a time when there was no GST. Because they can imagine life without it, a tax cut to the GST is more real to them. The thought of a time when there will be no GST is one that fills people with hope. A time with no Income Tax is inconcievable so not worth thinking about.
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