Freedom Flyer 23
the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario
June 1993
Fair Taxes?
NDP COMMISSION
PROMOTES HIGHER TAXES
LONDON (Apr. 13, 1993) - On its first day
of scheduled public hearings, Ontario's Fair
Tax Commission listened to the views of
several London-area individuals and groups
who were invited to contribute to the Ontario
government's discussion on "searching for
fairness" within the current taxation system.
The last scheduled speaker of the day, at 8:30
in the evening, was Fp leader Robert Metz,
who made it clear from the outset of his
presentation that the very concept of "fair
taxes" was deceptive, and that high taxes are
merely a symptom of Ontario's political and
economic problems, not a cause of them.
"I'm a 'fair tax atheist' - I don't believe
there is such a thing as a 'fair' tax," announced
Metz in his opening remarks. "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."
Metz argued that an effective attack on
high taxes would mean severely reducing
government spending, reducing deficits, and
returning economic choice back into the
hands of taxpayers.
Among his recommendations to the Fair Tax Commission
were some clearly unpopular
(with the NDP government) suggestions:
the privatization and selling-off of
Crown corporations engaged in business activities;
an end to universality in social programs;
a flat tax rate;
visible taxes.
NO CHALLENGE
Committee members Monica Townson,
Jane Berman, and Gerard Lafreniere did
not question or challenge Metz on any of his
arguments or suggestions, in stark contrast to
the treatment given presenters who were
innocent enough to accept the idea of a "fair"
tax.
To the NDP government, "fair" taxes
mean more taxes. As was made abundantly
clear in the Far Tax Commission's Discussion
Paper: Searching for Fairness, "ability to
pay" was its sole guiding principle in determining "fairness".
Since lower taxes or reduced government
spending are clearly not on the NDP's agenda,
the Ontario government is desperate to justify
both its increases in existing taxes and its
plans to introduce new taxes (i.e., "wealth"
taxes) to the electorate. Ontario's Fair Tax
Commission is one way that the NDP can
appear to be addressing "fairness" when it is
in fact implementing the most unfair spending
and taxing programs in this province's history.
Public hearings before the Fair Tax Commission were to conclude June 24, 1993 in
Barrie.
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