Archive for the ‘Governance’ Category
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Bill Morneau should refine tax proposals, then look at larger reform
Surely these changes would have been easier to swallow had they been part of a holistic tax reform agenda, guided by clear principles… those affected might understandably wonder, why us? … especially when there are so many more costly and regressive loopholes still on the books.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, tax
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Are wealthy Canadians paying their fair share of taxes?
Our tax system has become the ultimate insider deal, in which the well-connected consistently rewrite the rules to escape the rational and just responsibilities that should be placed upon them by a progressive income-tax system in a democratic nation…If middle-class Canadians had the same attitude toward paying taxes that the people at the top did, our country would be just another bankrupt, basket-case banana republic. Democracy is not free, nor is it particularly cheap.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Demographics the real driver of Trudeau’s planned tax changes
For the past 50 years, politicians focused on addressing the needs of baby boomers… Coming of age in the 1990s, Gen Xers were basically ignored by politicians as little demographic clout begat little campaign outreach begat little voter turnout begat little political power… Millennials are the echo generation, children of the boomers and an even larger demographic bulge… Winning campaigns are now constructed to address the value set of millennials rather than boomers.
Tags: featured, ideology, participation
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Justin Trudeau should finish the job on access to information
Bill C-58, which is now in its second reading in the House of Commons… is the first attempt to amend our access regime since the current law was passed in the pre-digital world of 1983… the legislation would allow the office to issue binding orders that would compel government departments and agencies to release information… within certain timeframes… But the government’s proposed legislation… is “far more conspicuous for what it fails to do.”
Tags: featured, ideology, participation, rights, standard of living
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Planned tax changes pit lawyers, bar association on opposing sides
“We lawyers – myself included – are a privileged group, and I am uncomfortable with the CBA leveraging that privilege to advocate for the personal financial benefit of a few,” said Emily MacKinnon, a lawyer at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, who started the petition. “The CBA’s job is to advocate for things that affect lawyers as lawyers, not to act as a tax lobby group.”
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Should the loudest voices prevail on tax reform?
Why are 100 per cent tax rates OK for low-income seniors, yet many among the top one per cent become apoplectic when the finance minister proposes to bring their tax rates back in line with that of every other high-income individual? Of course, Morneau’s proposals are still a work in progress. This is a complex area of tax law, so consultation is clearly important. But the loudest voices are not neutral.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, tax
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The problem with Trudeau’s high road
Apparently a lot of people who’ve incorporated are sensitive about having this gap between personal and small-business tax rates called a “loophole,” but what the heck: It’s a loophole, in the sense that it was never designed as a goal of public policy… If the government’s goal is fairness, then why can’t Morneau discuss the tax treatment of companies as big as his own?
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
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Doctors say tax us: Canada is worth it
Some of our medical colleagues feel angry and betrayed. They assert that… lower taxes for doctors are payback for the lack of pensions, parental benefits, child care, and other benefits… such concerns cannot justify an inherently unfair situation in our tax code, and especially one that worsens income inequality with adverse consequences for Canadians’ health… And we urge all physicians to support universal child care, pensions, and maternity benefits.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, mental Health, standard of living, tax
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Know the dirty little secret about taxing the rich? It doesn’t work
… the annual financial report shed some light on why the party hierarchy is so dogmatic about the tax changes. The report revealed that personal income tax revenues dipped by $1.2 billion in 2016-17, reflecting the impact of the introduction of the 33-per-cent top income tax rate in 2016. Some high-income Canadians realized capital gains and dividends in the 2015 tax year to avoid the new rate; others pushed their income into more complicated tax-planning structures like private corporations.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, tax
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Time for a fairer tax system
According to the CCPA, the total cost of all tax expenditures is estimated to cost the public treasury $202.5 billion in 2018. The chief beneficiaries are the rich. When half of Canadian workers are living paycheque to paycheque, the federal government has a responsibility to ensure that the Canadian tax system is fair to everyone. A fairer tax system will allow for lower income taxes for those who truly need a break.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, tax
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