Stéphane Dion assails planned GST cut

So if reducing the GST by one percentage point will cost 6 billion per year, why do we have another record surplus one year after reducing the GST one percentage point? With that math our current surplus would be at 14 billion if we had a 7% GST?

stephane dion has no clue what he wnats to do , sure he's against this but will he bother to vote against it and force an election ? likely not so he is all talk and no action .

So Dion is against lowering taxes?
That should go over well in Toronto because it looks like they like that sort of thing.

I like the lowering of taxes, but it wouldn't kill us, and could probably help us in the long run that if we kept this one percent, everything we make goes straight to the debt.

Unless we are expecting mroe record surplus. Then have at er.

The surpluses are going to either used or needed for big ticket military purchases. Those aren't being counted in determining the surplus level. We can't lower the debt, cut taxes and still buy all the big toys.

All in all Dion makes a well reasoned argument against it.

As a caveat we will be losing out on the GST we make from visitors to Canada for all the little non-refundable puirchases they make.

Corporate tax cuts fuel job growth (something Bart has mentioned time and again) so we mitigate lost revenues with new revenues gained as well as providing more jobs.

The surpluses are going to either used or needed for big ticket military purchases. Those aren't being counted in determining the surplus level. We can't lower the debt, cut taxes and still buy all the big toys.

All in all Dion makes a well reasoned argument against it.

As a caveat we will be losing out on the GST we make from visitors to Canada for all the little non-refundable puirchases they make.

Corporate tax cuts fuel job growth (something Bart has mentioned time and again) so we mitigate lost revenues with new revenues gained as well as providing more jobs.Canada's economy is going up quickly, so even with the big military purchases, we should be able to sustain it.

EDIT: I recall when this was all first put forward, economists said it wouldn't cause problems.

The surpluses are going to either used or needed for big ticket military purchases. Those aren't being counted in determining the surplus level. We can't lower the debt, cut taxes and still buy all the big toys.

All in all Dion makes a well reasoned argument against it.

As a caveat we will be losing out on the GST we make from visitors to Canada for all the little non-refundable puirchases they make.

Corporate tax cuts fuel job growth (something Bart has mentioned time and again) so we mitigate lost revenues with new revenues gained as well as providing more jobs.Canada's economy is going up quickly, so even with the big military purchases, we should be able to sustain it.

Our economy isn't going up enough to buy new jets, warships, helicopters, icebreakers etc at the same time as cutting taxes and increase spending.

Something will suffer. We will either stop paying down the debt or worse go back into deficit spending or make up the money elsewhere. That or not buy all the new euipment the military wants.

In addition, when and if the US recession hits it may hit us hard and that is entirely why the Liberals continued paying down the debt and exactly why it is important to always slash away at it.

The surpluses are going to either used or needed for big ticket military purchases. Those aren't being counted in determining the surplus level. We can't lower the debt, cut taxes and still buy all the big toys.

All in all Dion makes a well reasoned argument against it.

As a caveat we will be losing out on the GST we make from visitors to Canada for all the little non-refundable puirchases they make.

Corporate tax cuts fuel job growth (something Bart has mentioned time and again) so we mitigate lost revenues with new revenues gained as well as providing more jobs.Canada's economy is going up quickly, so even with the big military purchases, we should be able to sustain it.

Our economy isn't going up enough to buy new jets, warships, helicopters, icebreakers etc at the same time as cutting taxes and increase spending.

Something will suffer. We will either stop paying down the debt or worse go back into deficit spending or make up the money elsewhere. That or not buy all the new euipment the military wants.

In addition, when and if the US recession hits it may hit us hard and that is entirely why the Liberals continued paying down the debt and exactly why it is important to always slash away at it.We are paying down the debt. And don't underestimate our economy. Raw material prices are soaring. The taxes we are cutting may make a dent, but it isn't going to make a huge impact.

The surpluses are going to either used or needed for big ticket military purchases. Those aren't being counted in determining the surplus level. We can't lower the debt, cut taxes and still buy all the big toys.

All in all Dion makes a well reasoned argument against it.

As a caveat we will be losing out on the GST we make from visitors to Canada for all the little non-refundable puirchases they make.

Corporate tax cuts fuel job growth (something Bart has mentioned time and again) so we mitigate lost revenues with new revenues gained as well as providing more jobs.Canada's economy is going up quickly, so even with the big military purchases, we should be able to sustain it.

Our economy isn't going up enough to buy new jets, warships, helicopters, icebreakers etc at the same time as cutting taxes and increase spending.

Something will suffer. We will either stop paying down the debt or worse go back into deficit spending or make up the money elsewhere. That or not buy all the new euipment the military wants.

In addition, when and if the US recession hits it may hit us hard and that is entirely why the Liberals continued paying down the debt and exactly why it is important to always slash away at it.We are paying down the debt. And don't underestimate our economy. Raw material prices are soaring. The taxes we are cutting may make a dent, but it isn't going to make a huge impact.

Yes we are paying down the debt, by around 12 billion dollars. With a surplus of about 14 billion dollars it sin't hard to see that tax cuts and spending increases will change that.

Of course lets also not forget that although they dropped the GST last time they raised income taxes by 0.5%.

Then there is the ever increasing demands of the provinces.

During the election, Stephen Harper promised to cut the GST by 1% immediately, then another 1% after 5 years. That would be 2011. He also promised corporate income tax cuts, capital gains deferral, and to not tax income trusts. He promised to reduce the surplus to $3B per year. On top of that he promised 3 armed heavy icebreakers, an arctic port and arctic army base, C-17 Globemasters, and a list of other military purchases. Harper's economist quit after all the promises because the numbers didn't balance, the economy couldn't sustain it.

Now the arctic port became an old lead mine that's 100km off the Northwest Passage, the armed heavy icebreakers became slush-breakers and their construction hasn't started, the army base hasn't been built either, although we do have the first C-17 now.

Most importantly, the corporate income tax cut and capital gains deferral hasn't happened. I disagree with these cuts, I think tax cuts should be for personal income tax, but he had 2 budgets but the promised cuts still haven't happened. Most dramatic was his action with income trusts. However, he did increase personal income tax by 1/2%. After all these broken promises he can afford to make the little 1% cut to GST a few years early.

Watch him carefully, he didn't mention the personal income tax increase during the election. He tried to claim it was a personal income tax cut by comparing it to income tax rate before the last Liberal cut. That personal income tax hike paid for his 1% cut to GST, what is he going to hike to pay for a GST cut this time?

During the election, Stephen Harper promised to cut the GST by 1% immediately, then another 1% after 5 years. That would be 2011. He also promised corporate income tax cuts, capital gains deferral, and to not tax income trusts. He promised to reduce the surplus to $3B per year. On top of that he promised 3 armed heavy icebreakers, an arctic port and arctic army base, C-17 Globemasters, and a list of other military purchases. Harper's economist quit after all the promises because the numbers didn't balance, the economy couldn't sustain it.

Now the arctic port became an old lead mine that's 100km off the Northwest Passage, the armed heavy icebreakers became slush-breakers and their construction hasn't started, the army base hasn't been built either, although we do have the first C-17 now.

Most importantly, the corporate income tax cut and capital gains deferral hasn't happened. I disagree with these cuts, I think tax cuts should be for personal income tax, but he had 2 budgets but the promised cuts still haven't happened. Most dramatic was his action with income trusts. However, he did increase personal income tax by 1/2%. After all these broken promises he can afford to make the little 1% cut to GST a few years early.

Watch him carefully, he didn't mention the personal income tax increase during the election. He tried to claim it was a personal income tax cut by comparing it to income tax rate before the last Liberal cut. That personal income tax hike paid for his 1% cut to GST, what is he going to hike to pay for a GST cut this time?

He also promised not Tax income trusts. He did. I lost thousands of dollard, and so did alot of Canadians. We are pissed, and won't forget.

http://caiti.info/lies.php

I also lost out on the Trusts thing. (Dollard? You are think way too hard about Québécois heroes!).

I also agree that the Tory's have not quite brought the military back up to strength, after 13 years of decay it's going to take more than 2 years to sort it out, but the general vien of the Tory defence policy is much more aggressive than the past with the Mulroney Tories and the Chrétien/Martin Liberals, so it is a jump in the right direction.

As for tax, any less I have to pay is welcome, whether its a cent or two off my Tim's or a few hundred bucks off my next car, it's way better than paying more under any new Lib scheme.

Don't forget we have a minority government that is doing more than Martin ever did with his majority.

Will I agree with it all?
No, the Trust issue did piss me off and my portfolio is still 5% off what is was prior to Oct 2006.

Did it piss me off enough to vote Liberal?
Absolutely not. I will get richer under the Tories. Who the bloody hell else am I going to vote for?
I'll stick with the Tories for as long as it suits.

The Liberals never even came close to getting my vote. Too pro everything that I'm against.

So to sum up. Steve, give me some of my money back please.

Yea, pretty much sums up how I feel. Still really pissed. I invest more in Trust Funds when the Tories got elected. Lost so much when they broke that promise. But that is the only major Issue I've had with Harper since he has been elected. Minus this incident, he has outperformed what I expected.

Edit: As for the GST, I get more out of it then say a similar percentile drop in my tax rate, my wife did some calculations. If they lowered my Federal Taxe rate by about 1%, I'd get in the best years a maximum of 2000$ back. With the last GST drop, since we are big consumers, we saved close to 3000$ per year.

I was a skeptic when they proposed it. But now I'm really looking forward to the next drop.

Read the article. I know you don't like Dion, but how about looking at this with an open mind. For once.

Dion suggests cutting corporate taxes. So do 10 billion economists. Cutting the GST does nothing for the economy. It's a political move, because suckers fall for it.

And "At least he's cutting taxes!" is no argument. As has been said already, he's raised the income tax and taxed the income trusts. Besides, if my dog takes a shit in the living room, I don't say "At least he didn't shit in the bed!"