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Page 14 THE HERALD Wednesday August 1989 Anger brings people to Town Hall meetings For the past week the papers have been with news of the feds plan to reform taxes There s a hot and hevy national debate going on over Michael Wilson plan to eliminate an old tax and replace it with a Goods and Services Tax at the rate of nine per cent As a Member of Parliament and a member of the government it s mj job now to find out what people think of the plan then to let Wilson know And that s exactly why I in the middle of a stnng of Town Hall meetings will stretch from Burlington to by the time they re over III be straight with you this isn easy time there s a ma jor change in the way people are taxed there going be and skepticism Some people are angry and that anger brings them out to my meetings Frankly that s a good thing In ways the debate going on now is one which probably should have taken place during the last election campaign I hate high taxes and I hate unfair taxation The existing system needs to be improved it s unfair and riddled with exemptions Mike Wilson has proposed sweeping changes taking an old invisible tax and bringing in a highlv visible one which will be on most of the things we buy It may not be a perfect plan but it took a lot of political guts to gest Most Canadians feci they arc highly taxed to start with and tht last thing they want is an tax grab the challenge of everyone in government now including me to explain exactly what the changes will mean and what goals we ope to accomplish with them That one of the reasons for the Town Hall meetings think it s my responsibility to tell people why and how the tax system might change You have the right to know You also have the right to tell me what changes you might suggest are made before this thing gets carved into stone So fir the meetings have gone well I ve come away with pages of notes on the tax and other issues I ve heard pet pie talk about how they feel the feds should not just re ly on taxes to finance the country but et serious about cutting government spending I couldn t agree more I ve told you before that there are many things I see in Ottawa which could be eliminated Later this vear the House of Commons committee which I chair will get into exactly that topic It strikes me that dians will pay their fair share of tax but they want to know the money isn t being wasted or squandered by politicians As for the tax changes I ve told people at each meeting that I not going to be a salesman for the government What I will do is take the time to explain in detail what Wilson is suggesting and then listen hard to peoples reaction In a couple of weeks every home will be receiving a pamphlet I wnting on tax plan with a complete explanation of the changes and my comments on what good and what could be lm proved Included in that will be a page for your thoughts and I real hope you take the time to fill it out and send it tome This is one of several ways that people in our community can hdve a voice in reforming the system 1 will be preparing a report foi Wilson after the meetings are and after ve had a chance to read the pamphlet and respond In addition members of the llalton Peel tax committee citizens from Bolton Georgetown and Burl are prep a submis on the new tax for the House of Commons Finance Committee which is about to hold public hear These people by the way MP Garth Turner has been busy recently renovating his constituency office in Georgetown Mr Turner along with his wife Dorothy and some volunteers are replacing the floor and knocking out some of the walls Mr Turner wants more space so he can hold com mittee meetings In the office This will save taxpayers money because currently a space has to be rented out a meeting is Mr Tumersays Herald photo have already had a chance to meet facetolace with Mile Wilson here in the Where do I stand on the tax changes Well I support the idea of a tax on consumption because the big spender are the ones who end up paying the most I certainly sup port the million a year tax cut proposed for middle class tax payers And I think the feds are right to cushion lower income earners with a series of regular cheques to offset the effect of that tax But that s not to say thingb t be improved To my mind it would be fairer for the govern to tax everything with no ex and at a lower rate Right now groceries rents daycare insurance financial ser vices and a bunch of other things are not going to be touched I d appreciate your thoughts please call or or come out to one of meetings I m at Terra Cotta town hall on August Bel fountain hall on the 31st and the Elks Lodge hall in Nerval on Sept On another note I was happy to see a copy of ProEarth last week That s the environmental newsletter published by Katnna Barber of Caledon Katnna has agreed to be a member of my en committee and help us with the big task of educating peo ple into better everyday habits As the latest edition of ProEarth points out the first principal of reducing is to reject ex or unnecessary packaging After that we can all recycle and reuse and apply common sense I really appreciate what Katnna is trying to do and I hope a great many people support her If you re interested subsenbing to this effort then get in touch The address is UN ICO The Mutual Group Brian Smith BU HID lorn Bulloch ThereslaAndrewsMaas Bruce Field OrangevIHe Stwfbume Bolton Assoc Manager Br Manager 9416812 9411231 9256264 Is it time your insurance program had a cheekup Have you recently changed your marital status your family obligations your residence your job If you checked off one or more of these then your life insurance may no longer meet your needs Nows the time to review your insurance coverage For personal service call or drop in and see us Brampton Branch Office Telephone 416 financial Planning He Insurance Income Annuities and RRSPs and Savings Plans Investment Funds RESPs and Employee Benefits licensed with Mutual Lite of CanadaMutual 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