It’s time for politicians to focus on making choices that prioritize the needs of taxpayers. Photo Credit: iStock.
If the three most important words in real estate are “location, location, location,” the three most important words in politics are “affordability, affordability, affordability.”
The fastest way to make sure more money stays in the pockets of hardworking taxpayers is to charge less tax on top of things they buy. And that means cutting the sales tax.
And there are obvious ways to do it without hiking budget deficits.
Real after-tax income in Canada is falling. Fifty per cent of Canadians say they’re $200 away from not being able to pay their bills. Making sure more money stays in the pockets of hardworking taxpayers will help a lot of people.
Some politicians seem to get that more than others.
Take Nova Scotia’s political leaders. Right before calling an election, Premier Tim Houston promised to cut the province’s HST by one percentage point next year. Not to be outdone, opposition leader Zach Churchill is promising to cut the HST by two percentage points if he’s elected.
Cutting the sales tax is a great move. It means cutting the after-tax cost of clothes, washing machines, cars and even newly-built homes. And that’s because the sales tax is charged on top of all those items.
Every percentage point of sales tax costs the typical family of four about $500 a year.
A two-percentage point HST cut, which Churchill put on the table for Nova Scotians, would save families $1,000.
And a three-percentage point HST cut, which the Ford government should implement in Ontario, would save families $1,500 a year.
That would mean an extra $125 a month in the pockets of Ontario families. That’s meaningful relief. Every month. Permanently.
Late last month, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced plans to send $200 cheques to Ontario taxpayers, citing concerns about affordability.
While the notion of putting money back into taxpayers’ pockets – pockets it was taken out of in the first place – is nice, this is a one-time measure.
It might help struggling families when cheques go out in January, but the Ford government’s rebate plan does nothing to deal with affordability over the long term.
Ahead of this winter’s budget, the Ford government should give taxpayers a permanent tax cut. Premier Doug Ford should cut the HST.
Ontario spent roughly $22 billion on corporate welfare in 2021, according to the latest data from Fraser Institute.
Taxpayers give billions of dollars to wealthy companies like Stellantis, the Ford Motor Company, Honda, and Volkswagen.
Meanwhile, hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet.
Cutting the HST by three percentage points would leave roughly $15 billion in the pockets of Ontarians. Ending taxpayer handouts to corporations means Ontario could implement such an HST cut and still have $7 billion left over to wipe out the deficit.
Ask any Ontario taxpayer: would you rather see lower prices on virtually everything at the cash register or billions given to wealthy companies? The answer will be clear: Taxpayers shouldn’t have a higher tax bill to pad the pockets of wealthy companies.
The feds should look at making a similar move. The same report that shows Ontario spent $22 billion on corporate welfare also shows the feds spent about $47 billion.
If Ottawa stopped handing out corporate welfare, the feds could cut the sales tax from five per cent to one per cent without hiking the deficit.
That would leave roughly $2,000 a year in the pockets of the typical family.
Taxpayers have been clear they’re concerned about affordability. It’s time for politicians to focus on making choices that prioritize the needs of taxpayers.
That means leaving more money in their pockets. And doing so quickly.
The time for sales tax cuts is now.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
