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Funny, I thought I heard that before...

OTTAWA - The Conservative party's election platform could include a pledge to cut the Goods and Services Tax, as a counter to the $30-billion in tax relief promised by the Martin government in Monday's mini-budget, sources told the National Post.

The Conservatives are understood to be considering a plan that would see the GST shaved by two percentage points over the course of a Conservative government's mandate.

The Conservatives are likely to commit to keeping to Mr. Goodale's timetable but believe there is still enough fiscal room to make further cuts. Private-sector projections suggest Canada will rack up surpluses totalling $54.5-billion over the next six years, even after the government puts away $4-billion a year in contingency and "prudence" measures.

John Williamson, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said any decision to shave the GST would be a smart political move for the Conservatives because it would lower taxes for all Canadians and create a wedge issue the Liberals would be unable to match for fear of reminding voters of their broken promise to kill the tax 12 years ago.

link

   

Why not cut income taxes instead and use the surplus to pay the debt faster.

   

Why not use the years of majority rule and run a fiscally responsible government that benefits all Canadians?

Sorry. Not Liberal Values.
They'd rather line the pockets of the party and their cronies.

   

One thing the Liberals can be given credit for is being fiscally responsible.

And the hypocrisy of the right is quite amusing: The Liberals promise a tax cut and all we hear is this whining along the lines of "the bloody nerve of them trying to buy our votes with our own money" but when the Conservatives do the same thing suddenly it's a "smart political move".

No wonder so many people have a hard time taking the Conservatives seriously.

   

They need to get rid of the gas tax aswell.

   

How the hell can you call a billion dollar surplus, year after year, a balanced budget? Who's finance minister, Scrooge McDuck?
You're a desperate delusional party hack!

   

Oh I'm far from a fan of Paul Martin's and agree that he was heartless in the way he went about eliminating deficits, but there was no way to do it without some pain.

He may have been a little too fiscally responsible, given that ridenrain is apparently opposed to budget surpluses!

   

An embarrassment of riches? Cut the GST and income taxes. Instate a flat tax and a balanced budget amendment and the Tories would be see as something better than the crowd that ran with the like of Brian and Conrad Black.

   

First it was a shameless liberal tax cut promise, now it's a conservative 'mull' over getting rid of the GST.

Go ahead, neanderfreaks...bribe us with our own money!!!! Both these parties suck (NDP and Bloc, too).

Will someone (puh-lease, for the love of gawd) start an independent party that takes the best ideas from both and jettisons the garbage ideology?

Another minority government, coming up.....what a waste of time.

   

stephen harper is so consumed with toppling the goverment, he can't see the forest for the trees.
if that twit forces an election, i will vote against him this time.
martin said an election will be called 30 days after the gomery report in feb 06.
what is harper afraid of?
maybe cause the final report will continue to put the full blame on the cretian gov't and not not martin's? and there-by he won't be able to use it against martin?

just a thought from a westerner who vote doesn't count anyway...

   

Ultimately, the gov. is a business with all Canadians as shareholders.
If they a huge surplus, year after year, while still paying down the debt as planned, then they are taxing Canadians too much. While some Canadians might feel that they are taxed the right enough, I'd bet even less of them feel they are getting value for their money.


"TAXES: The Official Opposition believes the government has run out of excuses for not giving taxpayers significant broad-based tax relief now. Their six-month surplus of $10.4 billion betrays their position that the cupboard is still too bare for major tax relief. Any government that claims to have Canada's productivity concerns at heart has to understand the damage done by tax levels that are so high they've become a disincentive for investment, innovation and economic growth."

That's from a Reform party Dissenting Opinion paper. December 1998.

   

Done!

If there isn't a candidate in your riding no reason you can't run yourself.

   

I thought Scape's comment to be the most appropriate here. Get rid of all personal income tax structures and commit to a flat tax. There are EU countries looking at this possibility as we speak (err...post) and watching the outcomes of this shift in taxation should give Canada an idea if this scheme will be right for us.

As far as the GST is concerned we should remember that this tax replaced the old MST which was charged at each stage of the manufacturing process. In other words, if I were building bicycles and only produced the frames in my facility and purchased the tires, pedals, etc... from other sources then the cost to the consumer would include being charged MST on each individual component of the bicycle, whereas the GST ensures the consumer is taxed only once, on the retail price of the finished product.

   

Sales taxes are regressive and make the poor pay a higher percentage of their income into it.

Progressive income taxes are in the end the way to go IMO, Canada could survive, however, with slightly lower income taxes, and far lower sales taxes.

   

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