Pierre Poilievre vs. the elites (unless they're rich)It seems no amount of wealth

[applegrove]

Pierre Poilievre vs. the elites (unless they’re rich)It seems no amount of wealth disparity or empirical evidence can sidetrack Poilievre from his mission to make “tax” a four-letter word.

KM

By Katrina Miller Contributor

Fri., Sept. 16, 2022 timer3 min. read

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/09/16/pierre-poilievre-vs-the-elites-unless-theyre-rich.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a03&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=C60005D1AADA1B52D32FA3F88D5F9E9F&utm_campaign=top_145280

"SNIP......

When Pierre Poilievre says “no new taxes,” he means no new taxes for the rich.

In his first address to the Conservative caucus, Poilievre made it clear he’s returning the party to a hard-line, anti-tax agenda. Matched with his proclamation of being on the side of workers and seniors, the hypocrisy is striking.

His rationale goes something like this: average folks are paying too much in taxes, which gives the government too much revenue, which it spends irresponsibly, which then drives up inflation. It’s a tidy story, but totally false.

While Poilievre would have us believe that most Canadians are paying higher taxes, statutory rates for low and middle-income taxpayers are the same rate as they were in Stephen Harper’s time, and in some cases a bit less. Data from Statistics Canada shows that the effective tax rate for the bottom 90 per cent is slightly lower than it was under Harper, although it is slightly higher for the top one per cent.

His finger-pointing at the carbon tax as a burden on working families also rings hollow, since the bottom 80 per cent of families will get back more in rebates than they pay. And while Poilievre complains about gas taxes, which governments use to fund public infrastructure, he has said nothing about the profits of oil and gas companies. We all benefit from public infrastructure — but only the executives and owners of oil and gas companies benefit from higher profits.


......SNIP"