People are obviously confused and misinformed about the carbon tax.
For one, it will not put another tax on gas, gas prices are already taxed by the government so M. Dion said that gas prices will not be affected.
Two, though the carbon tax would be a new tax, it is not necessarily a tax increase as the Liberals will be balancing the carbon tax with income tax cuts.
This is a tax shift: the Liberal plan shifts taxes from things like income, profit and investments to pollution and carbon emissions. With that, big industries who emit tonnes of carbon will have the incentive to reduce their carbon emissions and become more efficient so they can pay less taxes and keep more of their profits.
This helps encourage companies to not only become more efficient but also pushes the economy to develop new technologies that are less dependent on carbon, which is not only better for our environment but will help diversify our economy that has traditionally been dependent on resource exploitation. If Canadian businesses start developing new technologies then we can sell these ideas to other countries, and switching to a more diversified, knowledge-based economy would certainly help the economic situation in Canada, especially with the struggling manufacturing industry in Ontario.
So as things we want less of like emissions and pollution are taxed, there will be tax-cuts for thing that help encourage economic growth like income
Quote:
The plan offers the following personal income tax cuts in compensation as people pay more for heating costs, food and other items:
- A 1.5 percentage point rate reduction for the lowest tax bracket (the first $37,885 of taxable income), to 13.5 per cent from 15.
- A one percentage point rate reduction for the second-lowest tax bracket ($37,885-$75,769), to 21 per cent from 22.
- A one percentage point rate reduction for the bracket between $75,769 and $123,184, to 25 per cent from 26.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...on-carbon.html
|
The small business tax will go down to 10%, the corporate tax rate to 14% With that, the tax increase you see from the carbon tax will be offset by the income tax cuts.
The Liberals didn't pull this policy out of their hats, a carbon tax has been promoted by both economists and environmentalists and has been implemented in other countries like Finland, Switzerland and Germany. Stephen Harper and Jack Layton have been accusing Stephane Dion of putting out a policy that doesn't work, but many economists and policy analysts have come out and said that it can work.
I know any policy proposal with the word "tax" in it is going to send people into the hills running, but take the time to read and understand the policy before writing it off. I honestly believe that what M. Dion and the Liberals are proposing is a bold, competent plan that will benefit Canadians in the long run.
Moreover, Harper may have a Masters in Economics but his economic policies have been anything but sound. Despite being "Conservative" his government increased government spending levels beyond that of the Liberals and his GST cuts were panned by economists everywhere. It was simply bad economic policy, as the GST cuts mostly benefit those who purchase expensive "big ticket" items like cars and houses and do nothing to encourage economic growth like income tax cuts would.
With that, these GST cuts that did nothing to help the economy caused a huge reduction in government revenue, which has resulted in some careful budgeting in Ottawa where the Liberals provided the federal government with years of surpluses after balancing the budget. The Conservative government's economic policies have brought Canada precariously close to deficit during these unpredictable economic times.
and I think it's an excellent thing that David Emerson won't be running again. One shouldn't be daming "pro-Liberal extremists" in his riding either, it was those "extremists" who got him elected in the first place when he ran under the Liberal banner. He did a great disservice to those who elected him, switching parties only a few weeks after the election to join Harper's cabinet.
The people of his riding elected a Liberal, if not a Liberal they would have voted NDP. They elected him under the Liberal Party name and he turned his back on them for a place in Cabinet. If he had decided to run again, regardless of his competence as a cabinet minister, I think his constituents would be right to vote him out.