Budget Day in Canada

To-day's the BIG day, the Tories roll out their first budget. They say they've vetted it with the other parties, but what has actually happened is that they've aimed 'good' news at most people.

The Big draw is the GST reduction - a 1% decrease here will save you about$300 on the price of a new $30 000 car. It'll pay for your winter radials. The more you shop, the more you save. The rich guys let the company (the taxpayers) buy their stuff so they won't save much (Ha.Ha.).

Next on the list is the $1200 for child care, that isn't. Apparently this is being taxed back at varying rates with the single-income family getting the best treament. At the Acme is the single income $250 000 p.a. group who will get the whole $1200, because it costs them more to have Momma at home looking after that baby. Huh?

Then there's re-arranged spending - the armed forces get more, but that means the environment gets less. The gun registry will probably go on soaking up the dollars - probably because its employees are all Quebecois, and because the cops like to know if you have a gun at your house. An unsafe storage charge is always a nice possibility after a visit.

A target for tomorrow is to rationalize that madness called the Income Tax return. It's the government equivalent of Sister Mary Elephant's 'Shut Up!' teaching method. Every 20 yeears or so the government simplifies the income tax return and over the ensuing 2 decades the manadrins at CCRA mess it all up again with a series of rulings and interpretatiions which would make the ordinary Joe head for the gun cabinet, the liquor cabinet, both, or H&R. Block. I wonder how much the tax preparation industry kicks-in to government coffers? Income tax returns have to be a billion-dollar industry, thanks to our government. Anyhow, an overhaul is long overdue.

Jimmy Flaherty is preaching the gospel of paying too much tax. If he'd like to do something positive, why doesn't he make corporate Canada play by the same rules? There are BILLLIONS in 'deferred' taxes credited to Corporations every year. The banks and insurance companies are allowed to 'defer' their taxes until they might have a 'bad' year, or go bankrupt, and then not pay them. Why don't they have a, "I' d like to defer my taxes to sometime in the future" Schedule for us? Better still, screw us, eliminate the corporate schedule. They do business in Canada and make a profit - they pay taxes!

As it is, Flaherty's a Mike Harris crewmate who thought that boning the poor would save the country - all it did was bone the poor. Let's get a look at his new shoes- $300 Florsheim's no doubt - they won't be from Payless!