Freedom Flyer May 1990 Cover

Freedom Flyer 16

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

May 1990




NO FAIR!

The Myth of "Fair Taxation"

Last issue in my Openers column (What to do about the GST?), I warned against false and misleading tax protests based on the myth of "fair" taxation. Thanks to a group calling itself the Stand Up for Canada Coalition, a perfect illustration of how not to protest taxes was provided within weeks of my warning.

On the weekend of April 7-9,1990, the coalition staged an anti-GST protest which included the distribution of literature, public rallys, and the provision of a "1-900" number to call for those wishing to register their protest by phone.

Some "tax" protest! While the Stand Up for Canada Coalition may have been protesting the GST, it sure wasn't opposed to higher taxes. Campaigning on a theme declaring Canada's current tax system "unfair", the coalition had a "solution": a fair tax system. "Fair", in the eyes of this left- wing coalition means, in their own words, the following:

1.Make the big corporations pay.

2.Base income tax on ability to pay.

3.Get rid of tax loopholes for the wealthy.

4. Tax wealth.

What this all adds up to is a "Make the rich pay" philosophy --- the very philosophy espoused by Marxist-Leninists and which is now being openly shared by New Democrats and Liberals alike. This fact was illustrated quite clearly at a "tax protest" rally held in London, Ontario on the weekend of the staged anti-GST demonstration. Among the speakers were University of Western Ontario law professor Rob Martin (a past NDP candidate) and Liberal MP Joe Fontana, possibly two of the worst choices in the entire city (David Peterson, with 33 tax hikes to his credit, would have been too obvious a target) to select as credible "tax-protesters'.

When law professor Rob Martin made it abundantly clear that he's "not opposed to paying taxes..." --- as long as they're paid by "corporations", the "wealthy", and tax "cheaters" --- he also made it clear that what he really meant is that he's not opposed to somebody else paying taxes. However, considering that most of the food we eat, the appliances we buy, and the few luxuries of life that many can afford are made by the very corporations to whom Martin would shift the tax burden, it's not hard to see who really ends up paying the increased tax --- everyone, in the form of increased prices where the tax is better hidden.

As an avowed socialist and supporter of the New Democratic Party, each and every economic policy Martin has advocated over the years is precisely what makes annual tax increases inevitable. And through my own personal involvement in fighting taxes at the municipal level, I can remember only too well when Joe Fontana (as a London municipal councillor and controller) supported a whopping self-awarded pay increase to municipal councillors and the spending of $110 million tax dollars to fund the 1991 Pan-Am Games in London. (Both issues were publicly protested by Freedom Party --- the latter successfully, the former not.) More recently, Fontana has advocated continuing to pour tax dollars into losing enterprises like VIA Rail.

What moral or rational justification could possibly qualify either of these two representatives as tax protesters? What possibly makes them think they're so different from the Conservatives they're criticizing, and what makes them think that taxing the rich and corporations is any better than a GST? Perhaps a question more to the point is how could anyone honestly interested in lowering taxes possibly take "tax protesters" like Rob Martin and MP Joe Fontana seriously?

As I pointed out last issue, voter ignorance, apathy, and support are the three greatest obstacles to fighting ever-increasing taxes. There is overwhelming evidence that voters in Canada today simply do not understand that there is a direct connection between government spending and their individual taxes. Believe it or not, 75% of respondents to a recent Canadian poll on government spending and taxation actually believed that the government has "its own" money and should be able to afford the many social programs to which it has committed itself. As a consequence, ignorance leads voters to support the very taxes they think they're fighting, while those who misrepresent the cause of "fair" taxes end up being the only winners in a political game that has nothing whatsoever to do with lowering taxes. Eventually, even the decieved come to realize that their taxes aren't going down --- and likely never will --- so that ultimately, the worst thing possible happens: voter apathy sets in, and everybody comes to believe that there is nothing that can possibly be done about the situation.

Doing the wrong things can't help, but doing the right things always does. Many people become apathetic not because they haven't been active or trying to "change" things, but because they've been following the wrong course of action --- which invariably leads to the wrong conclusions and outcomes. Reality has a way of making itself heard. In the case of taxes, most still choose to blind themselves to a solution by falsely believing the "other guy" can afford to provide them with social benefits for ever and ever, and worse, by believing that this is "fair" and just, simply because the "other guy" makes more money.

Like all taxes, the GST is simply another means for politicians to rob citizens of their hard-earned dollars, a process made necessary ironically, by a government committed to maintaining socialist spending programs --- the kind of programs supported by New Democrats like Martin and Liberals like Fontana. From the perspective of the individual taxpayer however, Conservatives, Liberals, and New Democrats are all cut from the same cloth. Where Conservatives want to tax consumption (through a GST), socialists and liberals want to tax production (by making the "rich", "corporations", etc., pay) --- yet consumption and production go hand-in-hand. The person who always ends up paying the tax is the individual consumer, taxpayer, or citizen - and no form of taxation will ever change that.

Trying to shift taxes around from one group to another isn't "fair" by a long shot. As I stressed in my last Openers column, no matter how you collect a tax, or who collects it, or which level of government collects it, or how many different ways it can be spread out to as many people as possible, there simply is no such thing as a "fair" tax.

So I'll say it again: If we want to get serious about fighting taxes, we have to start by being honest with ourselves about what taxes really are: involuntary payments imposed by politicians through the use of law. A tax is a tax, not a payment for services rendered. We pay it whether we receive a particular service or not. We pay it whether we want the service or not. We pay it whether we agree with how it's spent or not. If it's a tax, the government forces us to pay it and it's the government who decides how the money is to be spent, not those who earned it in the first place.

Fighting high taxes demands an attack on government spending, reducing deficits, and returning economic choice back into the hands of taxpayers. It would, of necessity, have to include the privatization and selling-off of Crown corporations engaged in business activities, dramatic cuts in government spending, an end to universality in social programs, a flat tax rate, visible taxes, lower sales taxes and lower income taxes --- just for starters. These are measures that we at Freedom Party have been advocating since our inception, but we have never allowed ourselves to be misled by the myth that taxes can possibly be "fair".

Since a "fair" tax simply does not exist, the next best goal to shoot for is the lowest possible tax --- for everyone. Any other objective simply guarantees higher taxes --- for everyone.

Unfortunately, as long as a majority of voters continue to believe that they can get benefits through our tax system at the expense of others, there will be few supporters for any serious anti-tax campaign. That's why I'm counting on YOUR support. Being a Freedom Party member or supporter likely puts you years ahead of the general public in understanding the nature of Canada and Ontario's tax dilemma.

You can help by dispelling the myth of "fair" taxation whenever you encounter anyone using the phrase: tell them about Freedom Party and tell them that we need their support. More importantly, you can help by contributing as generously as possible to Freedom Party so that we can do the job that needs to be done. We have a long way to go and nobody else is going to do the job for us. Quite often, the very people who would benefit most from lower taxes are among our most ardent opponents--- victims of the "fair" taxation myth. It's sad, but true. And if you stop to think about it, it's not fair.

"Fair" taxation is an unattainable illusion that will only lead to more taxation. Join the fight against high taxes now. Support Freedom Party today. With over half of our annual income already going to governments, waiting till tomorrow to do something about it may be too late. Tomorrow we may not be able to afford to fight high taxes; we'll be too busy paying them.




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