Definitely one to sway the average voter, Stephane. Well done.
Keep going with your instincts while you sit there on your hands.
And in case anyone missed that, it's the LIBERALS wanting to raise your taxes federally, just as they likely will provincially here in Ontario.
* * * *
Update: The Leader of Canada's Official Seatwarmers leads another brave mission of abstention. Now that's True Grit!
Kate has a brilliant illustration of Stephane Dion's future right here.
Jack has a great link to an interview with Mike Duffy on the John Gormely show. If you like political intrigue and cloak & dagger stuff, you'll love this!! (The plot to get rid of Dion.)
Thursday Update: Jane Taber - Liberal caucus in restive mood. (At first I thought that said 'festive'!)
Kate has a brilliant illustration of Stephane Dion's future right here.
Jack has a great link to an interview with Mike Duffy on the John Gormely show. If you like political intrigue and cloak & dagger stuff, you'll love this!! (The plot to get rid of Dion.)
Thursday Update: Jane Taber - Liberal caucus in restive mood. (At first I thought that said 'festive'!)
31 comments:
Repealing tax changes is easy. But we can't repeal the structural changes this government is itching to do.
Recall Free Trade. Mulroney insisted it was no big deal, since it could be canceled on 6 months notice. Turner asked why, when 80% of our trade is already free, do we need to give guaranteed access to resources, among other things, for that last 20%. And now when we see Harper "settling" softwood by leaving a BILLION dollars on the table, one could wonder how much good is it doing?
We simply can't repeal free trade. If we tried, would the Auto Pact be put back in place? No. For good or bad, we have to live with that structural change.
Same with the GST. Repealing the GST would mean re-instituting the tax it replaced, doubling the work that was put into changing over for GST, just to have a poorer tax put back.
Changing the GST rate is something any government can "look at" at any time.
Bringing Canada back after majority Harper has disassembled it is not so easy. The stakes are too high. Better to wait until the veneer is stripped off and everyone sees the disaster that looms with majority Harper.
LS, Please enlighten me to the horrible changes that you are expecting if the CPC get a majority and how they will change life as we know it in this great country, at the same time please show me where these horrible changes are backed up by policy statements as approved by the last CPC convention.
Good questions, Kingston. I am interested in the answer too.
More bad news for Stephane.
Yes, please tell us Liberal supporter. The blog is waiting to here, although pardon me if it all sounds like more of the blah, blah, blah or desperation....because that's what it is.
Liberals can languish in hysterics, self-pity all they want but I prefer the sweeping tax cuts to all Canadians to that of the Liberals stealing my taxdollars never having returned it.
Attention Liberals!!
Vote for the carrot.
...everyone sees the disaster that looms with majority Harper
Yes, the disaster of Liberal 'entitlement' coming to an end. Very sad indeed.
Hey liberal supporter, your desperation is palpable. Looks good on you!
Now run back to Red Tory and find a friend, we are busy revelling in the destruction of the LPC.
Actually, I don't mind L.S. commenting here. At least he keeps it clean; unlike some of RT's cabal.
Yeah LS, go play with RT: "Brokeback Libranos"
Hihihihi! (No copyright reserve)
You mean like everybodys favorite foul mouthed lefty, Ti-guy?
I am sorry Joanne, but I have had several go-rounds with these tools on RT. They are generally incapable of reasoned debate.
Again, I am sorry and I have no right to suggest that LS should piss off.
I see my entourage has arrived.
If my words were preposterous, they would be ignored, but I see they attract quite the chorus.
I will have to respond to kingston (and joanne) tomorrow. We Liberals have to warm up our broomsticks for our big night tonight, you know!
I will agree with Joanne concerning LS. He is a very reasonable debater who respects the rules of the road, and well we have disagreed many times it has always been in a mature and responsible manner. LS, I did not mean to call you out but I am growing tired of the fear mongering concerning Mr.Harper and I am asking you to back up your post with facts and links.
LS. PS. concerning the Autopact.
The Auto Pact was abolished in 2001 after a World Trade Organization ruling declared it illegal, though by that time the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other agreements had made it largely irrelevant.
So to answer one of your questions no it could not be brought back.
Brilliant play by the LPC leaders! Brilliant, I say!
I was obviously rooting for Bob Rae to take the reins but I'm absolutely thrilled with Dion thus far.
"I am asking you to back up your post with facts and links."
Forget it Kingston, like AGW and their Goracle worshippers, facts are just a nuisance for some people...Only one brand is fit to run Canada: Liberal.
Reminds me of an old saying:
"Only the village idiot never changes his mind"
preposterous? What you're witnessing Liberal supporter is the conservatives confident to speak up and for all of the right reasons.
The only preposterous antic at the moment is the performance of Mr. Dion. Carrot....indeed.
Oh and Caveat - fill your boots. It's going to be a long winter in the cellar in Quebec.
LS:
Yes, it would be difficult to undo the GST rate cut (which is one reason why I supported it over say personal income tax cuts, which would be relatively easy to restore), but why would you speculate about even considering it??
Expect Harper to push Dion on this issue. "Will you raise the GST if you are elected?", "Will you promise not to raise the GST?", "Why won't you make that promise?", "What are you hiding? What other taxes will you raise?" etc..
Its just stupid quite frankly to make that sort of statement or insinuation on Dion's part. Something tells me that he needs to stop listening to the 'productivity' crowd and maybe listen to average Canadians.. or even Sheila Copps.
New Liberal Slogan: The Official Abstaining Party.
Seriously, LS, free trade was and isthe way theworld economy is going, and Mulroney realized that before many others. The European Union is a good example, and one of the reasons for a common currency, the Euro.
As for the GST, Mulroney and then finance minister Michael Wilson stated that the gst rate would be lowered as the economy and revenue from the tax grew. The Conservatives are simply follwing that logic now. As for people spouting about it's bad economic policy, yeas and no.
On regular daily items like a coffee, the savings per purchase will be minimal. But on larger purchases, houses, cars, appliances, etc. the savings are significant. Take a young couple trying to purchase new mini-van. With little or no downpayment, they end up paying interest on the taxes if financed. Figure that over a 60 month term.
The Liberal's biggest problem is Dion. Or maybe Cherniak will blame on on the 14 year old helpers. Whatever, all he had to do was say he disagreed with the gst cut, but nooooooooo, he comes out with the "might rescind the cut" line. What a buffon. And if are going to abstain, at least have the leader and his shadow cabinet vote against it. Are they that afraid of an election?
CP OTTAWA - Stephane Dion's suggestion that he might one day increase the goods-and-services tax had some of his Liberal troops shaking their heads Wednesday.
One Liberal MP actually buried his head in his hands when told of his leader's public musing.
Another simply cursed.
yyc - Yeah, I couldn't believe the timing. I thought he was supposed to be so smart.
There was a good article in the G&M today, about the missed opportunity from McGuinty to increase the PST when the GST is decreased (revenue neutral), and give the cash to municipalities to cover their shortfalls.
Since the cities are a provincial responsibility, it makes a lot of sense to do so. Could he really be afraid of being labelled as a promise-breaker again, when he didn't get punished for it last time?
Möbius, thanks for the tip. That is exactly what Linda Leatherdale was alluding to a few weeks ago.
Möbius, I can't access that page. Were they trying to tell Dalton to raise the PST?
More like berating him for missing the opportunity.
More like berating him for missing the opportunity
Oh, I don't think he's missed his opportunity yet! I'm just mad at the Globe for supporting this kind of duplicity.
I think it was a good idea, if he had campaigned on it.
I did find this, which is very interesting:
Dwight Duncan, who took the reins as Ontario's new Finance Minister on Tuesday, was not available to comment Wednesday on his federal counterpart's call to the provinces to match Alberta's corporate income tax rates of 10 per cent by 2012. Unofficially, however, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty received a frosty reception in Ontario. A senior government official said Premier Dalton McGuinty does not want Ottawa dictating how his government should treat an area under Ontario's jurisdiction.
“We appreciate the federal Finance Minister's advice but we set our own corporate tax policy,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
Ontario's corporate tax rate is 14 per cent, well above most other provinces. British Columbia's rate is 12 per cent, Saskatchewan's is 13 per cent and Manitoba's is 14 per cent and it is set to drop to 12 per cent in 2009. Quebec, by contrast, plans to hike its rate to 12 per cent by 2012 from 9.9 per cent to offset the abolishment of its capital tax.
No wonder manufacturing is leaving Ontario!
I think it was a good idea, if he had campaigned on it.
Since when did he ever worry about doing what he campaigned on?
O.K. I did find it (courtesy of Liblogs!).
Time for McGuinty to live in tax harmony.
My impression was that they were more suggesting that Ontario harmonize with Ottawa rather than raise the PST, but I do find the whole thing somewhat confusing. What's your take on it?
Liblink here.
My impression was that they were more suggesting that Ontario harmonize with Ottawa rather than raise the PST, but I do find the whole thing somewhat confusing. What's your take on it?
Anything that reduces confusion and exceptions to tax laws looks good to me. Think of all the things that are exempt from GST and PST, throw them away, and combine the taxes into one. Easier for businesses, to be sure.
However, who will accept paying the combined tax on groceries?
Instead of McGuinty asking for money from the Feds to give to cities, i.e., interfering with provincial responsibilities, he should have the nerve to increase the PST, and give it to the cities.
With the current surplus, he could just give the equivalent amount without raising PST. Then he wouldn't have so much left at the end of the year to spend on cricket clubs.
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