CUPE National President Judy Darcy helped launch the report, which was produced by the Centre for Social Justice. The High Costs of Tax Cuts uses a Statistics Canada taxation model to see who wins and who loses from the tax cuts.
The report concludes that either partys tax cut hits lower income Canadians with a double whammy a tiny share of any cash in their pockets, combined with the likelihood of major cuts in public services and social programs.
Meanwhile, a small slice of the richest Canadians make off with the lions share of the tax cut windfall, widening the income gap between rich and poor.
Liberal and Alliance tax cuts arent just a chisel chipping away to widen the income gap theyre a jackhammer, blasting an even larger divide between rich and poor, said Darcy. Tax cuts steal money from public services thats like adding dynamite to the mix.
The report, which projects results to the year 2003, found the Alliance tax cut plans would mean $130 billion in lost federal tax revenue money which could have gone into strengthening public services and creating new programs. The Liberal cut would mean $44 billion in lost revenue.
Both schemes send us down the river to a meaner, more unequal society the Alliance just gets there faster, at jet ski speed, said Darcy. Public services help bridge the gap between rich and poor. When those services are cut back, eliminated or turned over to the private sector, its the poorest Canadians who have the most to lose.
Instead of a tax cut, how about a pay raise for working Canadians? Instead of a tax cut, how about investing the money to re-build health care, protect the environment and help educate our children? added Darcy.
The High Cost of Tax Cuts is part of a broader Center for Social Justice anti-tax cut campaign that CUPE is supporting. CUPE is also sponsoring billboards across Ontario with the messages Bad water: Your tax cuts at work, Dirty schools: Your tax cuts at work, More poverty: Your tax cuts at work, “Tuition hikes: Your tax cuts at work” and Crowded ERs: Your tax cuts at work.
The report is available in PDF format by clicking here. For more information on the tax cut campaign, visit www.socialjustice.org.
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