Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, March 30, 2015

BMO: Provinces Will Take Back Three-Quarters Of Tories' Tax Cuts

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is undoubtedly hoping that this year’s round of tax cuts and expanded family benefits will make Canadians feel richer as the country heads towards a fall election, but a new report from the Bank of Montreal suggests that may not pan out as hoped.

The Harper government’s tax cuts and expanded family benefits will put some $4.5 billion in Canadians’ pockets this year, but provincial austerity budgets will eat up about three-quarters of that, BMO economist Robert Kavcic estimates.

“Most of what Ottawa will be returning to one taxpayers’ pocket, the provinces will take out of the other,” he writes.

Provincial budgets have been released in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan, and have raised some $2 billion in new revenue from consumers, Kavcic estimates. He called British Columbia the “odd province out” because its budget included no major tax hikes, fee hikes or rollbacks of benefits.

The provinces that haven't tabled budgets yet are also likely to take a bite out of consumers, with Atlantic provinces “pushing through tax hikes to some extent,” Kavcic predicted.

Ontario, saddled with a $12.5-billion budget deficit, “will likely have to lean on taxpayers, at least somewhat” or face the wrath of credit rating agencies, Kavcic wrote.

A report last year from the Conference Board of Canada said the province would not be able to balance its books without tax hikes.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: Daniel Tencer

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