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Economy

Federal government should listen to Canadians and restrain spending in upcoming budget

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From the Fraser Institute

By Grady Munro and Jake Fuss

The Trudeau government has repeatedly demonstrated a proclivity to increase spending and run deficits. Recent polling data shows that most Canadians are not in favour of this approach. When it tables its next budget on April 16, the government should listen to Canadians, restrain spending and provide a concrete plan to balance the budget.

The Trudeau government has increased spending substantially since taking office in 2015. When comparing the levels of inflation-adjusted, per-person program spending under every prime minister, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has overseen the five-highest years of spending in the country’s history—even when COVID-related spending is excluded. Unsurprisingly, this proclivity to spend has resulted in eight consecutive deficits from 2015/16 to 2022/23, with another six planned from 2023/24 to 2028/29.

These eight years of borrowing have contributed to an $867.2 billion (or 82.0 per cent) increase in total gross government debt since 2014/15. Not only does this represent hundreds of billions that must be paid back by future generations, this debt run-up has also imposed significant costs on taxpayers through rising interest payments. In 2023/24, interest costs on federal government debt will reach a projected $46.5 billion—meaning more taxpayer dollars will go towards servicing debt than child-care benefits ($31.2 billion).

Again, while the Trudeau government was originally elected on the promise of higher spending for infrastructure and temporary deficits, recent polling data shows that Canadians are not happy with this approach—62.9 per cent of Canadians want the Trudeau government to cut spending. Conversely, less than a quarter (24.6 per cent) of respondents want the government to continue as planned (8.7 per cent want further increases in spending).

Of the respondents that feel the government should cut spending, 60.1 per cent want to use the savings to repay debt while 39.9 per cent want tax cuts. Debt reduction or tax relief would be a welcome development. But how much would the federal government need to cut spending to be in a position to balance the budget in the near future?

A recent study shows the federal government could simply limit the growth in annual program spending to 0.3 per cent for two years and balance the budget by 2026/27. In other words, the government could grow annual program spending by $2.9 billion from 2024/25 to 2026/27 and still balance the budget.

This is not to say the government wouldn’t face tough decisions in determining how to limit spending growth, and which areas of spending to target, but there’s a clear path to budget balance if the government wants to respect the wishes of most Canadians. And there are clear areas of spending where savings could be found.

For example, corporate welfare (i.e. government subsidies to businesses). Federal business subsidies nearly doubled from $6.5 billion in 2019 to $11.2 billion in 2022, yet research shows that they do little to promote economic growth and may actually harm the economy. Reducing or eliminating corporate welfare would help restrain overall spending.

After nearly a decade of growing spending and continuous deficits, Canadians have expressed a desire for the federal government to finally change its approach to fiscal policy. Through restrained spending there’s a clear path to a balanced budget that brings opportunities for debt reduction or tax relief—a path the Trudeau government can choose in its upcoming budget.

Business

Taxpayers criticize Trudeau and Ford for Honda deal

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Jay Goldberg

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing the Trudeau and Ford governments to for giving $5 billion to the Honda Motor Company.

“The Trudeau and Ford governments are giving billions to yet another multinational corporation and leaving middle-class Canadians to pay for it,” said Jay Goldberg, CTF Ontario Director. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sending small businesses bigger a bill with his capital gains tax hike and now he’s handing out billions more in corporate welfare to a huge multinational.

“This announcement is fundamentally unfair to taxpayers.”

The Trudeau government is giving Honda $2.5 billion. The Ford government announced an additional $2.5 billion  subsidies for Honda.

The federal and provincial governments claim this new deal will create 1,000 new jobs, according to media reports. Even if that’s true, the handout will cost taxpayers $5 million per job. And according to Globe and Mail investigation, the government doesn’t even have a proper process in place to track whether promised jobs are actually created.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has also called into question the government’s claims when it made similar multi-billion-dollar handouts to other multinational corporations.

“The break-even timeline for the $28.2 billion in production subsidies announced for Stellantis-LGES and Volkswagen is estimated to be 20 years, significantly longer than the government’s estimate of a payback within five years for Volkswagen,” wrote the Parliamentary Budget Officer said.

“If politicians want to grow the economy, they should cut taxes and red tape and cancel the corporate welfare,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Just days ago, Trudeau said he wants the rich to pay more, so he should make rich multinational corporations pay for their own factories.”

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Business

Maxime Bernier warns Canadians of Trudeau’s plan to implement WEF global tax regime

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

If ‘the idea of a global corporate tax becomes normalized, we may eventually see other agreements to impose other taxes, on carbon, airfare, or who knows what.’

People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier has warned that the Liberal government’s push for World Economic Forum (WEF) “Global Tax” scheme should concern Canadians. 

According to Canada’s 2024 Budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is working to pass the WEF’s Global Minimum Tax Act which will mandate that multinational companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15 percent.

“Canadians should be very concerned, for several reasons,” People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier told LifeSiteNews, in response to the proposal.

“First, the WEF is a globalist institution that actively campaigns for the establishment of a world government and for the adoption of socialist, authoritarian, and reactionary anti-growth policies across the world,” he explained. “Any proposal they make is very likely not in the interest of Canadians.” 

“Second, this minimum tax on multinationals is a way to insidiously build support for a global harmonized tax regime that will lower tax competition between countries, and therefore ensure that taxes can stay higher everywhere,” he continued.  

“Canada reaffirms its commitment to Pillar One and will continue to work diligently to finalize a multilateral treaty and bring the new system into effect as soon as a critical mass of countries is willing,” the budget stated.  

“However, in view of consecutive delays internationally in implementing the multilateral treaty, Canada cannot continue to wait before taking action,” it continued.   

The Trudeau government also announced it would be implementing “Pillar Two,” which aims to establish a global minimum corporate tax rate. 

“Pillar Two of the plan is a global minimum tax regime to ensure that large multinational corporations are subject to a minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent on their profits wherever they do business,” the Liberals explained.  

According to the budget, Trudeau promised to introduce the new legislation in Parliament soon.  

The global tax was first proposed by Secretary-General of Amnesty International at the WEF meeting in Davos this January.  

“Let’s start taxing carbon…[but] not just carbon tax,” the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, said during a panel discussion.  

According to the WEF, the tax, proposed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “imposes a minimum effective rate of 15% on corporate profits.”  

Following the meeting, 140 countries, including Canada, pledged to impose the tax.  

While a tax on large corporations does not necessarily sound unethical, implementing a global tax appears to be just the first step in the WEF’s globalization plan by undermining the sovereignty of nations.  

While Bernier explained that multinationals should pay taxes, he argued it is the role of each country to determine what those taxes are.   

“The logic of pressuring countries with low taxes to raise them is that it lessens fiscal competition and makes it then less costly and easier for countries with higher taxes to keep them high,” he said.  

Bernier pointed out that competition is good since it “forces everyone to get better and more efficient.” 

“In the end, we all end up paying for taxes, even those paid by multinationals, as it causes them to raise prices and transfer the cost of taxes to consumers,” he warned.  

Bernier further explained that the new tax could be a first step “toward the implementation of global taxes by the United Nations or some of its agencies, with the cooperation of globalist governments like Trudeau’s willing to cede our sovereignty to these international organizations.”   

“Just like ‘temporary taxes’ (like the income tax adopted during WWI) tend to become permanent, ‘minimum taxes’ tend to be raised,” he warned. “And if the idea of a global corporate tax becomes normalized, we may eventually see other agreements to impose other taxes, on carbon, airfare, or who knows what.”   

Trudeau’s involvement in the WEF’s plan should not be surprising considering his current environmental goals – which are in lockstep with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which include the phasing out coal-fired power plants, reducing fertilizer usage, and curbing natural gas use over the coming decades.    

The reduction and eventual elimination of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum – the aforementioned group famous for its socialist “Great Reset” agenda – in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.     

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