“Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me.
‘Cause I’m the taxman. …”
– from the song Taxman by George Harrison
A Commentary by Doug Draper
With only five weeks to go before we go to the polls in a provincial election, one of key strategies of Tim Hudak and his Conservatives for winning election is clear. Weld Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty’s name and image to the word “taxman,” and say and do everything possible to paint him as one of the most notorious collectors of taxes in the province’s history.
The Ontario Conservative's Dufferin- Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones joins Tory Welland Riding candidate Domenic Ursini, unveiling the 'Wheel of Tax' at a Welland shopping mall.
That strategy was in full evidence this past week with the pre-election unveiling in Niagara of the Conservatives’ so-called ‘Wheel of Tax’, mimicking one of those big spinning wheels you can find on a midway at an amusement park. Spin this ‘Wheel of Tax’, featuring the world taxman curling three times around McGuinty’s grinning face, and you can’t help but lose. Where ever that pointer lands when the wheel stops spinning, you fall on the 15 per cent HST (harmonized sales tax),a “new water tax,” a “carbon tax,” an “income tax hike,” a “new school board property tax” or something called a “sneak eco tax.”
“No matter what the wheel lands on, Ontario families will lose with the taxman,” stated an August 24 news release put out by the campaign office of Domenic Ursini, the Conservative candidate involved in a wide-open race in the Welland Riding with the retirement of the riding’s longtime NDP representative Peter Kormos. “Ontario families have been clear,” added Ursini in the media release. “It’s time to stop the ‘Wheel of Tax’ once and for all.”
Well of course no one – and I mean no one, including this columnist – enjoys paying taxes, especially those on lower or fixed incomes who can least afford it. And McGuinty, who promised before he was sworn in as premier eight years ago, that he would not raise taxes, has found one clever way after another of getting around raising income taxes, which are at least progressive in the sense that they tax income earners on their ability to pay, by forcing a harmonized sales tax (the HST) on us. That is a highly regressive tax in the sense that it hits everyone – the affluent, the poor, the employed and under or unemployed – just as hard when they pay their heating and gas bills or purchase an item at a cash register. There is also the ‘health fee’ that the McGuinty government taxed on to income taxes about five or six years ago that reached right down and bites people earning as little as $25,000 a year.
Niagara Falls Tory candidate George Lepp recently unveiled this billboard, located near Liberal incumbent Kim Craitor's constituency office, depicting Craitor and Premier Dalton McGuinty as "taxmen."
Combine McGunity’s foolish promise eight years ago not to raise taxes, with the health fee and HST, and a number of spending scandals – most notably the billion or so dollars squandered on untendered consultants to develop an electronic health information (‘eHealth’) system – and the premier and his government certainly deserve some of the slamming they are getting from the Conservatives and NDP.
On the other hand, what have members of the Ontario public done about tax hikes under the McGuinty government other than grumble about them. When McGuinty and company brought in the health fee tax during its first term, the silence from the public was deafening and ultimately the McGuinty Liberals were voted back in with a second majority government. The introduction of the HST last year wasn’t that different. Unlike British Columbia where a grassroot movement led to using relatively new legislation in that province for holding referendums for killing unpopular government legislation, there has been no such grassroots movement here – at least not one that has gained any serious public attention or traction in neighbourhoods and communities across Ontario.
It may also be that many Ontario residents fear that if the provincial government has no further means of raising taxes and collecting revenue for services, or if some taxes are cut under a new Conservative government led by Tim Hudak, then cuts to services like health care, education, affordable housing, transit and environmental protection are inevitable. After all, if you are going to freeze or cut the property taxes featured on that ‘Wheel of Taxes’ for school boards, for example, cuts will ultimately have to be made to our schools and the number of people teaching in them. If you don’t have revenue to keep up with school costs, what else can you do?
It may be that enough residents over the age of 30 in this province remember what happened to our essential services and those who delivered them when this same tax and spending cut opera was performed by the Conservative government of Mike Harris a decade ago and aren’t interested in an encore.
If that is the case, the winds may not blow all that ill for the “taxman” in this coming provincial election.
(Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this commentary in the comment boxes below.)
Niagara At Large 
There is enough waste in the system to reduce costs without messing with essential services – it just takes the fortitude to do it. Give me the job and I will damn well do it in a hurry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I bought printer from Walmart today costing $19.00 and had to pay $5.40 as Eco Fee and over it another 13% Tax-Imagine 25% of the cost of printer is being charged as ECO-Fee-we are either totally considered dumb or the government is helpless in managing the money it collects from public in the shape of taxes-seems there is absolute anarchy in the control system-if there is any.
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Post Layton bump up for the NDP and a disgruntled centrists should hit McGuinty’s political flanks hard this time around.
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Taxes aren’t a major issue with me; it seems to be a major topic or issue with people who have too much money and more than enough to pay more taxes without even noticing the increase.
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They probably don’t pay many taxes wherever that printer was manufactured…
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I am just listening. I have no quick answers. But I listened to Olivia Chow this morning on the radio and when asked about taxes she replied, quietly, something like ‘taxes pay for all our social programmes, education, day care, homeless shelters, and more.’ If we don’t want this, it appears we want more of an uncivil society much as they have south of us. Think of the Tea Party movement with cutting taxes, making government smaller “Keep government out of my medicare!” slogan. Is this our future?
I am just listening in. Trying to figure it out. No answers.
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Olivia Chow is right. People think that tax cuts will enrich them, but it’s a huge distortion. As soon as taxes are cut, everything else costs more (user fees), and we’ll get less, unless we’re rich.
If, like the Tea Party, we want government out of health care, we are courting health care disaster if equal access is the measure. Our current health care system is in decay because governments are withdrawing from health care while commercial interests are advancing (think P3 hospitals).
Do we want to live in a society where only the privieged few can afford to send their kids to university? Do we want a society where the quality of health care depends on the health of our bank accounts?
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I agree. Hudak is about tax cuts, which is also about service cuts, and who feels the cuts the most? Certainly not the wealthy, as their tax load will go down and their companies will get government handouts still … while the people with the lowest incomes will lose health care, transit, housing, enhanced educational supports, etc. Do not believe any politician that tries to convince you they can cut taxes without cutting services or benefits to the most vulnerable of our communities. Many people believed Ford in Toronto when he said that, and look what is happening in Toronto now … he is trying to make Toronto into something like Niagara … a region dearth of services, little to do for low income and poor public transit, etc. (because his wealthy benefactors don’t need to worry about these things – they can buy them).
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I have no problem with taxes. Money taken for services that we all use and benefit from is necessary. Also, the tax money is pumped back into the economy and creates jobs -often high value jobs like teachers and nurses. My issue is that I don’t really trust the liberal government to spend my money wisely or efficiently. For example, lets look at ehealth. Billions of dollars were taken from us, were filtered through and watered down by government administrators and then handed to consultants. In return we received nothing except the burden of higher taxes. I think if the government is going to collect taxes we should get something in return other then paying the salaries of government workers and consultants. I do not get the sense that Dalton respects that I work hard for my money and I want the money that gets taken from me in taxes to be put to good use. I can blow my own money, thanks. I don’t need the liberals to help me with that. If he was collecting taxes to go to doctors and pay for roads I would not complain; but he wastes it on things like ehealth. Consider how much you pay in taxes and then look at what you are getting in return and ask yourself if you think you are getting a good deal. Creating government jobs alone is not enough of a reason to hike taxes. I think Dalton believes that it is.
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Adam, you are right. Tax dollars should be spent better than they are currently. I think politicians get a little power to the heads, and then try to use our money to push their own agendas or benefit their wealthy allies. Don’t kid yourself. Corporate tax cuts are being paid, except they are being paid by the rest of us in the form of higher taxes or reduced services.
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