Thanks for giving me my Liberal tax cut
I am certainly not one to bemoan getting to keep some of my own money. Tax cuts are always welcome.
That being said, I certainly will not be calling Flaherty a hero for this anytime soon:
"In addition to cutting the GST by another percentage point, the Conservatives are proposing to cut personal income taxes retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007. The lowest marginal tax rate would fall to 15 per cent from 15.5 per cent. That represents a rollback of a rate hike implemented by the Conservatives last year."[emphasis mine]
Yes, that's right. I will finally get back the tax cut I had 2 years ago under Paul Martin, now that it is politically expedient to do so. Now that Flaherty and Harper can try to say its a "Conservative" tax cut instead of a "Liberal" one.
Considering the size of the recent surplus, I would be surprised if any party - even the NDP - would not have proposed some kind of tax cuts. So really this is not exactly a surprise.
So what are the Conservatives going to do about the "In and Out Scandal", come clean and be open and accountable, or continue waffling and stalling and pretending defrauding Canadian taxpayers out of millions in Election Canada refunds is ok?
Is the federal government going to continue a corporate welfare policy of subsidizing the oil and gas industry to the tune of about $1.3 billion per year, even while oil is above $90 a barrel (the highest is has ever been) and these companies continue to make record profits?
Is the federal government going to do something about the $7.9 billion in questionable, no-bid military contracts that started under its watch?
No, they are going to bribe us with our own money and seek the support of bigots in Quebec with the "Veiled Voter" nonsense. They'll continue to pass useless and unneeded changes to the Criminal law in a quest to curry populist favour with the ignorant.
And the Liberals will let them, because they are afraid to go to the polls, because they are afraid to raise real issue and pursue them.
You have the government you deserve.
Update:
A picture is worth a thousand words. Thnaks Zorph!
Labels: bullshit, Conservatives, Liberals, tax cuts
posted by Mike @ 2:58 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Incredible. These "tax cuts" are short on policy and long on politics. They've got the angry white, old guy vote wrapped up.
kgp
No kidding.
"Thanks for my Liberal Tax Cut"
LOL, perfect! Thanks Mike!!! ~evil photoshopping grin~
I await your pixel-rearranged goodness...I'll certainly apply an update.
Your Liberal Tax Cut is in the Email, don't spend it all in one place.
grin
They've got the angry white, old guy vote wrapped up.
I resemble that remark!
Hi Mike,
I heard somewhere that the total rebate amounts to about 275 dollars for people in the lowest bracket. Actually I was expecting a little bit more seeing that another federal election is probably in the cards fairly soon. But I'm sure they'll come up with a few more surprises although I hate to imagine what these might be.
You do realize that the rate was at 15.5% for a total of 6 months don't you? The rate went back up in July of 2006, when half of Dithers' tax cut was rescinded. The mini-budget makes the tax cuts retroactive to the beginning of 2007. So the extra half percent was in effect for the final six months of 2006. (That's why the bottom bracket showed up as 15.25% on the 2006 tax return.)
Also, we are now benefiting from a $1000 working income tax credit (worth $150) on any and all taxable employment income, which took effect at the beginning of 2007. The crying over that half percent was a lot of whining over nothing. It was a stupid thing for the government to do, no doubt. And completely unnecessary finance-wise. But the impact on taxpayers was minimal to non-existent. Just like the government's current boastful rhetoric about these tax cuts amounts to a lot of huffing and puffing over some very modest tax relief.
"But the impact on taxpayers was minimal to non-existent. Just like the government's current boastful rhetoric about these tax cuts amounts to a lot of huffing and puffing over some very modest tax relief."
Well, that's rather the point RR. Really, this is less about the tax cut itself, than the Conservative government's partisan positioning of it. The fact remains they are patting themselves on the back for giving me something I had 2 years ago but they took away, no matter how long I am affected. I am also pointing out that this was such a bad idea when the Liberals did it, but such a great bit of tax relief now that the Conservatives do it; partisan hypocrisy.
As a libertarian, I look forward to the day when there are no taxes (and no government), but until then, I want the best bang for my buck. So, frankly, I agree with the scores of economists that have commented on this. It would have been better to have a larger personal exemption, a lower marginal tax rate and leave the GST where it was.
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