Harmonized PST & GST

[MapleCityStar]

This letter appeared in the Chatham Daily News on April 17, 2009, and is reproduced here with permission.

HARMONY DISCONCERTING

Sir: Down through the years there have been famous illegal or unethical "transfers" of wealth. The Great Train Robbery, for example, or the heist of an armoured car in Montreal a few years back, or the Enron debacle, or more recently the Stafford and Bernard Madoff successes in parting people from their money. There have also been some notable team efforts with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Bonnie and Clyde. However, there is a new team in action -- McGuinty and Duncan about to lighten our wallets through tax harmonization.

This massive cash grab is quite simple. We will now pay combined provincial and federal taxes on all services such as haircuts, manicures, stamps, real-estate closing costs, all the way up to new homes, depending on the value of the house, and on hundreds of personal items and foodstuffs.

Our federal and provincial governments are doling out massive sums of money to bolster our economy and need to take more of our money from us to fund it. Any government suggestions that this is "revenue neutral" because of one-time rebates to be mailed out two months before the next provincial election are pure horse feathers. Much like the insincerity of McGuinty's aim that the health tax implemented several years back is not a tax. There are some amazing coincidences in the timing of this long reach of the combined governments to increase their take from us. For several years, McGuinty has been complaining loudly about the unfairness of equalization payments from Ottawa and that Ontario is being short-changed. Now, all of a sudden McGuinty is silent on this subject. Another interesting tidbit is that in the next federal election, there will be 21 new seats in the House of Commons from Ontario.

On a related subject, King Stevie's Quebec strategy has exploded in his face. He needs those Ontario seats. Last but not least, Stevie is providing a $4.3 billion "incentive" (bribe?) to Ontario to complete the sales tax harmonization.

Let's see: 21 new Ontario federal seats that could offset Conservative losses in Quebec, $4.3 billion coming to Ontario from Ottawa, sudden cessation of complaints from Toronto about Ottawa's unfairness to Ontario, and the federal Conservatives and provincial Liberals actually romancing again. Could there be a connection to all of these phenomena? Probably not even the Shadow knows . . .

-- H. David Goldsmith Chatham

[MapleCityStar]

I have to agree that the timing of this initiative is suspicious. There was no mention of harmonization in the last provincial election campaign. In fact, McGuinty stated it was not up for discussion This is going to hurt families, who now face one of the biggest tax grabs in Ontario history. Small business will have increased paperwork burden and tax-collecting obligations.

Consumption taxes are regressive. Lower income earners will be disproportionately affected by this tax grab on previously-exempt items such as internet services, hydro, heating fuel, and a whole host of goods and services that were not subject to the PST.

McGuinty suggested that consumers would win since business would likely absorb the increase. Had McGuinty bothered to consult these businesses, he would have learned that margins are already diminished, leaving little room for his anticipated benevolence. Does he really expect Union Gas, Chatham-Kent Energy, or any business to absorb the added 8% in this economic climate?

No doubt the current government deficits and stimulus spending sprees must be paid off, but the bulk of this burden should be the responsibility of the corporate world behind the financial crisis, not small businesses and families. The Harmonized tax introduction date will no doubt mark an impediment to Ontario's economic recovery.

[It Matters!]

Haha! Dalton McGuinty has been had by Harper. He just made sure the Tories will be elected in Ontario. McGuinty promised to NOT harmonize the taxes. Now he'll have to run again as a liar, only this time our wallets will be stinging twice as bad.