Taxes and tax cuts
Those calling for tax cuts for upper-income earners have found a new cause. For the past year, media reports, newspaper columnists and "think tank" studies have all been sounding the alarm. The latest catch-phrase of the neo-conservative project: the Brain Drain.
The latest mantra of the tax cut crusaders is "flat tax."
"Flat: usually has a negative connotation--like flat tires or flat beer--but somehow in the context of taxes the term appeals to conservatives. What could be more fair than taxing everyone's income at the same rate? It turns out there is lot more to this seemingly simple proposition than meets the eye.
Business interests in BC are lobbying hard for tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals. These kinds of tax cuts are regressive, because they would primarily benefit those at the top of the income ladder--those who need a break the least. Tax cuts would also reduce the revenue needed by governments to fund the public programs and services most of us depend on.
On budget day, Ontario's Finance Minister Ernie Eves was full of extravagant praise for his tax cuts. The budget papers were full of impressive looking examples of tax savings resulting from the change in personal tax rates introduced along with his "made-in-Ontario" tax system.
It's finally summer, and heat waves have replaced "tax rage"--for the time being anyway. The campaign for lower taxes and smaller government is sure to resume as we get closer to federal and provincial budget season (not to mention elections). With it will come many tall tales about how overtaxed we are, and how (conveniently) lower taxes are the cure for all that ails our economy.