Oppose Flaherty’s and Harper gutting of government revenues
October 31, 2007
The massive tax cuts implemented today by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty should not surprise us - this governement and its boss Stephen harper have a visceral contempt for Canada as it is and are determined to remake in their right wing image.
They cannot do that overnight because Canadians have come to like their country and the quality of life it provides. So instead harper intends to kill it slowly - by whatever cuts he can make at the margins and in the longer term by starving it to death by slashing revenue.
There is no more important issue to fight than this one - because virtually every other issue depends on govt revenue. Keep slashing it and there will be no money for anything new - and when growth slows, the deficit monster will return and the things we still have will be cut.
Write a letter slamming these tax cuts.
FRAMING: As I have said before, the right cleverly frames taxes with the phrase “tax relief” (see the Globe and Mail article - reporters are now using it) suggesting taxes are an affliction that has to be relieved. We need to reframe this issue and talk about the slashing of government revenue - revenue that funds the things Canadians in their overwhelming majority say they want. In contrast to “tax relief” reframe the issue and:
- talk about taxes as the price we pay for a civilized society;
- talk about fair taxes;
- talk about Canada losing its status as the best place in the world to live if we starve it of funds;
- talk about taxes being an investment in our children’s future.
The key elements of the tax cuts announced Tuesday follow the suggested points for your letter, if you need them.
Some points to make in opposing this deliberate attack on government revenue:
-
Canadians consistently say they do not want tax cuts as a result of surpluses - they choose spending on medicare, education, eliminating poverty, a national child care program and the environment before they list cuts to taxes.
-
Stephen Harper in this draconian assault on government revenue reveals once again his contempt for what Canadians say they want and for what generations of Canadians have built.
-
This has nothing to do with competitiveness, it has everything to do with Harper’s desire to constantly minimize government’s social democratic role
-
remember...Harper once headed the National Citizens’ Coalition whose motto is “More freedom through less government”
-
He also said in 2002 that Canada was "...a second tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its ...social services to mask its second rate status.." He says he hasn’t changed his philosophy.
-
While CEOs always talk about the need to cut taxes, in actual business surveys they tell the truth - that tax levels are one of the least important factors in deciding to invest or not. The more important issues include the cost of borrowing, availability of trained workers, energy costs, the reliability of transportation infrastructure, access to markets, and land costs.
-
Corporate tax cuts over the past 15 years have done nothing to improve Canada’s international competitiveness - they have made it worse. According to the World Economic Forum , in 1999, the year before Paul Martin introduced his $100 billion tax cuts, Canada was 5th in the competitiveness sweepstakes. After seven years of tax cuts we are in 16th place [http://tinyurl.com/jz73w].
-
Who beats us? Amongst others, the Nordic countries which collect half their GDP in taxes each year. Nine of the 15 countries ahead of us have higher taxes.
********************************************
- GST cut one percentage point to five per cent, effective Jan. 1, 2008.
- Personal income tax cut retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007,
- $10-billion in federal debt relief.
- One percentage point cut in corporate tax to 20 per cent in 2008.
- Reduction in corporate tax rate to 15 per cent by 2012.
- Small business income tax reduced to 11 per cent by 2008.
- Total tax relief estimated at $60-billion over five years.
Click here to SEND YOUR LETTER NOW!
