Posts Tagged ‘tax’

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Four ways the fall economic statement could help prepare all of us for the coming recession

Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

People are anxious. The world is talking about recession… What can the government do about any of it? Help those struggling to choose between heating or eating, or even between food or shelter, by asking a bit more from those who saw a windfall in corporate profits and shareholder dividends.  Here are four ways to do just that…

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Pierre Poilievre vs. the elites (unless they’re rich)

Sunday, September 18th, 2022

Decades of regressive tax measures, particularly lower rates of tax on business and capital, have had a significant role to play in wealth inequality. Progressive adjustments to our tax system could help reduce it. Yet it seems no amount of wealth disparity or empirical evidence can sidetrack Poilievre from his mission to make tax a four-letter word.

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Liberals to announce plan to double GST tax credit, launch youth dental care and top up housing benefits, NDP sources say

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

The New Democrats say they have inked an agreement with the Liberals… that would double the GST tax credit for a period of six months. About 12 million Canadians could be eligible… Both parties also reached consensus on a plan that could see low-income youth under 12 receive a cheque for dental services by the end of the year. The plan is intended to be a temporary solution until a permanent dental care plan can be implemented by the end of 2023 and extended to those under 18, seniors and people living with a disability.

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Indigenous people pay taxes: Demythologizing the Indian Act tax exemption

Wednesday, August 24th, 2022

… just eight per cent of Canada’s Indigenous population — who could potentially qualify for the Section 87 exemption. However, this number is likely lower because status Indians only qualify for the exemption if their income is connected to a reserve… Even though nearly all Indigenous people in Canada pay tax on their income, Canadian governments have not spent nearly as much on services for them.

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Enjoy Doug Ford’s cheaper gas while you can. It comes at a high cost

Thursday, July 7th, 2022

You can’t promise to rebuild a cash-starved health care system while squeezing government revenues. You can’t pledge to build out long-term care and expand child care while cutting gas taxes… How do you defend bleeding the treasury of money that’s needed more than ever for services people truly need? … The problem with Ford’s vote-buying is that we can ill-afford the toll it takes on an ailing health care system.

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Ottawa should stop clawbacks of pandemic benefits

Sunday, June 26th, 2022

Groups such as Campaign 2000, which advocates to eliminate child and family poverty, have… pressed the federal government to ensure that benefits and refundable tax credits such as the Canada Child Benefit are not clawed back and that any lost benefits are restored. (Ottawa did act to restore Guaranteed Income Supplement payments that had been reduced or eliminated because of pandemic benefits.)

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Workers didn’t cause this inflation. And they shouldn’t have to pay for it

Sunday, May 29th, 2022

So long as the actual causes of inflation are addressed (by fixing supply chains, energy prices, and housing), inflation would then decelerate, even as wages keep up. Contingent wage protections (like cost-of-living adjustments) would also maintain the purchasing value of wages, without prompting higher inflation. To the limited extent that domestic demand pressures are reinforcing higher prices, it is better to use more focused and fair contractionary measures to dampen spending.

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Energy companies profits are through the roof. They should share the wealth

Wednesday, May 18th, 2022

… the government backstopped the financial sector through the pandemic with billions of tax dollars that kept incomes up and the banks’ customers solvent. They benefited from government support, and now it’s time to pay some back… The energy companies are in a similar situation… The government ought to tax away some of the enormous profits pouring into the energy companies and use that money to support those being hit hardest.

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Ontario election: 4 ways Doug Ford has changed the province’s politics

Wednesday, May 18th, 2022

The Ford government’s agenda seems driven by instinct more than ideology… fundamentally reactive, and grounded in relatively short-term perspectives… [Its] most recent legislative moves have sought to further marginalize the roles of local governments in planning matters and to eliminate public consultation requirements as red tape… The overall decision-making model… is based on access, connections and political whim… The focus… on short-term savings for consumers.

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Ontario budget falls flat on funding for public services

Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

Despite all the spending, public services do not seem to be a priority… Normally, health spending must rise by at least 4.5% a year just to maintain services. The budget’s plan for health care is to cut it… Take [federally funded Early Learning & Child Care] out of the education budget and the net result is that, in a time of high inflation, education is almost certainly seeing a cut in real funding per student…

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