My budget wish list
With the budget due in less than a month, I figure I'll give my wishlist of what I'd like to see the dominant themes be. I don't necessarily think any of these will necessarily happen without a majority, but hopefully the Conservatives show some courage when it comes to taxes, the fiscal imbalance, and social programs that most conservatives are hoping for.
1) Tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts - Obviously they have to be prorated over the course of a few years but I would love to see significant personal, business, and investment tax cuts across the board. Everyone from the Fraser Institute to the C.D. Howe to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is in agreement that tax cuts would help productivity and investment in the Canadian economy, and is necessary with an aging population, and the highest tax rates of all the nations in the G-7. I would also like to see some family-based tax incentives like income splitting. I've become a big believer in Mark Steyn's thesis that falling birthrates pose a significant threat to our future. We need to give women more incentive to have kids, and stay home and raise them.
2) A REAL solution to the fiscal imbalance - I may be interpreting the fiscal imbalance differently than most, but I hope this budget includes the transfer of tax points to the provinces, and later an agreement between the Feds and the provinces to harmonize the provincial sales taxes with the Federal GST. I would love to see some clearer lines of accountability when it comes to areas of specific jurisdiction for the provinces and Federal Government.
3) Continued focus on rebuilding the military. We need to continue rebuilding, and re-furnishing the military so its best suited to meet Canada's interests. We need rapidly deployable troops that can be transported quickly to hotspots around the globe. The War on Terror is a war that will continue to be faught in multiple theatres, and we need to be able to help our allies in any of those theatres when needed.
These are just the top three. Obviously political optics might take precedent over real action on long term problems, but I reserve hope that PM Stephen Harper doesn't allow his pursuit of a majority to undermine the need for immediate action on these fronts.
1) Tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts - Obviously they have to be prorated over the course of a few years but I would love to see significant personal, business, and investment tax cuts across the board. Everyone from the Fraser Institute to the C.D. Howe to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is in agreement that tax cuts would help productivity and investment in the Canadian economy, and is necessary with an aging population, and the highest tax rates of all the nations in the G-7. I would also like to see some family-based tax incentives like income splitting. I've become a big believer in Mark Steyn's thesis that falling birthrates pose a significant threat to our future. We need to give women more incentive to have kids, and stay home and raise them.
2) A REAL solution to the fiscal imbalance - I may be interpreting the fiscal imbalance differently than most, but I hope this budget includes the transfer of tax points to the provinces, and later an agreement between the Feds and the provinces to harmonize the provincial sales taxes with the Federal GST. I would love to see some clearer lines of accountability when it comes to areas of specific jurisdiction for the provinces and Federal Government.
3) Continued focus on rebuilding the military. We need to continue rebuilding, and re-furnishing the military so its best suited to meet Canada's interests. We need rapidly deployable troops that can be transported quickly to hotspots around the globe. The War on Terror is a war that will continue to be faught in multiple theatres, and we need to be able to help our allies in any of those theatres when needed.
These are just the top three. Obviously political optics might take precedent over real action on long term problems, but I reserve hope that PM Stephen Harper doesn't allow his pursuit of a majority to undermine the need for immediate action on these fronts.
posted by Luke at
4:05 PM
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