Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 29, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A8 Winnipeg free monday september 1997 b h h in l t ii e h a d l i n b s tories face surplus of tax options by Paul Sattin National reporter t Ong before Eric Stefanson was i provinces finance he a chartered and As he crunched the numbers at his James practice he saw first hand what High taxes were doing to the Bottom line of his especially those in Small but it was the and imposed pay Roll tax that really stuck in Stefan sons Craw and spurred him to enter provincial Stefanson is the Man with the Power to determine what taxes Mani to bans pay and More and More people Are calling on him to Lessen the levies the province collects each influential Bond rating agencies have weighed gently nudging the province towards tax cuts that Are Well within the provinces fiscal adding to the tax Cut volume is the business Community and groups like the Mani Toba taxpayers association which Are Adamant its time Stefanson allowed people to keep More of their hard earned Money in their the business Community is get Ting a Little said Dan Kelly of the Canadian federation of Independent we have gone through some pain in the sense of doing business Here and now we have to watch As other provinces have done tax Victor Vrsnik of the Meta says his group wants to make tax cuts the Central theme this we want Broa based tax cuts so that every one he As the nature of the fiscal debate in the province the question becomes where to when and by How much the tax Cut crusaders have already marshalled their arguments and their line of attack starts right with Stefan sons string of for the the provinces sur plus for last year had to be revised upward four times before it finally reached the government is obliged to return that Vrsnik the people pay taxes for services not for growth while being in a surplus position is far better than being saddled with a it Means that Stefanson is in effect taking More out of the Economy than he is putting surpluses put the brakes on the engines of said David Perry of the Canadian tax what is also driving the tax Cut cry is a sense that whats Good for Ontario or new must also be Good for while the tories in recent years have managed to do some tax tinker ing through what they Call strategic cuts to help such sectors As the local film Manitoba Hast seen across the Board cuts like those undertaken by other for Saskatchewan earlier this year reduced its sales tax to seven per cent from nine per the rallying cry for tax cuts also comes with an argument that leaving More Money with the people will Lead to More and with More people according to the the province would collect More tax revenues which would More than make up what was lost in the tax but not All tax cuts Are As the accompanying charts make dropping the personal income tax rate by one Point would Only Cost the province million and give the average family of four an additional a by dropping the provincial sales tax to six per cent from the current seven per cent would result in a Revenue loss of million to the Treasury and mean an extra for that same family of which tax you Cut can mean entirely different things for the it All boils Down to a question of where you get the biggest bang for your Perry the right a tax Cut gives people a signal to go out and for does lowering the personal income tax rate mean peo ple will spend More Money in your province or does it mean they take that Money and spend it on a Vaca Tion in Hawaii will lowering the provincial sales tax Spur Domestic consumption those questions Arent easy to Perry if the government put More Money into welfare you could be sure local groceries will see a for the Stefanson is say ing Little about tax cuts other than he is keeping an Eye on what everyone else is he remains sceptical that major tax cuts will result in there is no empirical evidence that Points directly to that compared to what you can do on a targeted while the tories have committed to eradicating the payroll Stefanson Doest seem keen on wiping out the Levy that generates million Annu he says 90 per cent of employers Are already exempt from paying the tax and half of its take comes from government and Crown Stefanson also defends his surplus stance As a Way to pay Down the provinces accumulated debt of More than the debt is the total amount of Money the province accumulated Over a number of sure you take a Little bit out of the Economy but you Are stimulating it in other ways Stefanson pointing to such things As helping keep interest rates Low and improving the provinces the key is sustaining sustaining surpluses within the requirements of the provinces balanced budget Law takes on new meaning when you realize that pay ments on the annual debt Are going right million is contributed annually to Clearing up the Bottom but in the province needs to put million toward the debt each that amount increases every five reaching up to million in nip Leader Gary doer is con Vinced the tories will use the Public Money to buy another election through a tax doer Points out that despite the tories tax freeze they have increased the average family tax Bill by hundreds of dollars a a 1993 briefing note to the pre Miers office pointed out that Broad ening the sales tax base to include things like baby supplies and reducing the property tax credit by was equal to an 11 per cent increase in personal taxes or the equivalent of a per cent increase 1997 Coo highline 2 one payment lease 132 3 air 1997 intrepid air Speed tilt one payment lease Momo Drivers Side sliding Doo additional sir 7 dual air one payment lease 219 79 Drivers Side sliding door per w7 grand caravan air 7 dual air 4 to 1997 4wdsit 4 air rear slice to wheels to costs and impacts of selected tax reductions on family of four at 19971998 projected Revenue current rate Revenue per St Point Cost of rate reduction to 6 to 5 19971998 projected Revenue current rate As of Federal tax Revenue per pit Point Cost of rate reduction to 51 to 50 to 49 to 48 19971998 projected Revenue current rate cents per litre Revenue per cents per litre Cost of rate reduction to 10 cents per litre to 8 cents per litre i Jurj 1 approximately1 6 of revenues Are from aviation fuel taxed at per Gator Vorpi taxed at 9 cents Oer assumes 2000 litre annual cons Momon at j taxed at 9 cents per assumes 2000 litre annual consumption 1 health and pos secondary education Levy payroll tax 19971998 projected Revenue million current rate payroll exemption million 1 million effective january corporation income tax 19971998 projected Revenue current rate Large corporations smaller Canadian controlled private corporations a pc Revenue per full Cit Point Cost of rate reduction for Large and Small corporations to Small business rate Only by 1 Point business rate Only by 1 Point Lutes Jbv m on re Home we do it All award winning contractor since 1994 t Vinyl Cope t window doors roofing Felt Frog Eav Strough financing 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