Corporate Tax Cuts: Dion’s Line in the Sand
Since becoming Liberal leader, Dion has consistently made noises about cutting corporate taxes. On Friday, he clearly and specifically committed to slash corporate taxes “deeper than the Conservatives.†A Liberal strategist quoted in the Financial Post indicated that the plan is to outflank the Conservatives on the right regarding tax policy.
Also on Friday, the NDP’s new finance critic, Thomas Mulcair, was officially sworn in as an MP. As his website points out, the federal NDP has a solid record of opposing across-the-board corporate tax cuts.
Inching ever closer to the post-Paul Bremer Iraq with 15% flat corporate tax.
Still waiting in line for health care. Who will pick up the slack. Us little guys?
To what extent is cutting corporate taxes a right-wing position? I’m thinking of Scandinavian low corporate taxes of course.
A right-wing friend did make me think when he argued that what the left should really do is tax the wealthy owners rather than tax the corporations themselves.
That is a theoretically legitimate position, but it is not Dion’s position. He also wants to cut personal income taxes.
In a Canadian context, the challenge is that many of the wealthy owners in question reside outside the country. The Scandinavians have the luxury of much less foreign ownership.
Stephen Gordon and I had this debate at the Canadian Economics Association conference. It is an important issue for social democrats.
Interesting. Thanks Erin.