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= 8 == Sougoq Oitisen - Tuesday, March 5, 1996 published by: Scugog Citar Pabihing Ltd. THE SCUGOG CITIZEN OCNA Member office manager : Sibylle Warren N » ani A an and operated CCNA Member g sales . weekly community CCNA Thom Doran, Jennine Huffman, Bob Osborne is distributed, porn & a] @ TNA reception : Janet Rankin CL to over 13,500 homes and businesses production ; Tanya Mappin, Valerie Ellis i feature writer : Heather McCrae a cor erg "Proved Canadians, prowd to cail Scigog Township home." co-publishers : John B. McClelland, Valerie Ellis editor : John B. McClelland ! S------------"". 3 Let's Talk Taxes Louis XIV's finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, once said that the art of taxation consists in plucking the greatest number of feathers off the goose with the least amount of hissing. Canada's own Sun King, Jean Chretien, would probably concur. His finance minister, Paul Martin, is poised to pluck Canadians naked in next month's budget. federal government has been releasing trial balloons for possible tax hikes in Budget '96. Taken separately, they look innocuous enough, but add them all up and Canadians could be looking at a massive tax grab this year; and for years to come. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance has recommended a whole, slough of tax increases. It's more than likely that Mr. Martin has already penciled in a $1 per carton increase on cigarettes which would raise $150 million, a flat tax of 15% on lottery winnings over $600 for $200 million, a 1.5 per cent per litre increase in gas taxes for $500 million, and a reduction in corporate loss carry - overs-which will account for additional increases in revenues. The Finance Committee recommendations alone could come to as much as $1 billion. Not to be outdone by a bunch of tax - and - spend back - bench upstarts, Sheila Copps has proposed yet another mischievous scheme for a tax increase. The Deputy PM has proposed a new $1.4 billion "CBC tax" to "replace" Mother Corp.'s current funding from Parliament. Don't be fooled; Ms. Copps' new tax on video rentals, movie cable subscript and phone bills would not be a revenue neutral "change. The feds would almost certainly redirect the dollars currently going to the CBC corresponding reduction in Canadians' tax burden. The biggest shock ta the system may come in the form of i d Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions. In order to save the CPP from its suicidal tendencies, the government is contemplating driving up payroll taxes. That could mean a doubling of contributions, with rates going as high as 12.2% from the current 5.6% of eligible earnings which, if implemented in full in the next fiscal year, would amount to a $13 billion tax increase. What else? The Ottawa rumour - mill has it that a "tax the rich" committee, struck at the suggestion of the increase through the Towering of RRSP contribution limits. Finally, there's the GST. There's a very good chance that' the Liberals will renege on their promise to "scrap the GST" and instead implement a merged 'provincial / federal sales tax with a 1.25% flat tax on personal income (as they proposed in 1994). That would amount to a $6.5 billion income tax hike. Add it all up and you are looking at the possibility of a $23 billion tax i ! That tr into a tax hike of over $3000 for the average Canadian family. Of course, extracting this amount from taxpayers' pockets would probably lead to economic collapse. But the feds may try to implement these taxes in stages - plucking a feather at a time. In fact they're already been "using this strategy. Paul Martin increased taxes by $3.5 billion in the '94 budget and by $3.7 billion last year. Let's not give him another feather. ("Let's Talk Taxes" i feature service of the Ontario Taxpayers Federation.) Little by little, piece by piece, feather by feather, the i WHEN THEY £. i TE Wa CUT THE FAT -- | KNOW THEY Meat to other spending areas. There would not be a ded a $1.5 billion tax LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Teacher feeling 'under siege' | To The Editor: Attached is a letter I wrote to Snobelen some 2 weeks ago with no response to date. I an now wishing to make the letter public as | fear that only Tory insiders have the ministers ear. Would you be so kind as to print this as an open letter, if that is proper, in next week's Re: Education Transfer Payments and the 'tool kit'. As a teaching professional in this Province I am feeling under siege. With the targeting of Education for some $400 million in cuts I am at a loss to understand how you and your ministry staff feel that the education offered to our Province's Children can not help but be negatively affected. In my most cynical moments I wonder if this is not the reason for the cuts as I see the long term results of them being two standards of education, one for the rich and one for the poor. 'Where this two tiered system is in effect, (many developing countries, Great Britain) there has developed a clear cut class system, a system in which the rich benefit from the relative impotence of the poor. In my most _cynical moments I wonder if the development of such a class structure is not the Ontario PC When I am looking through my rose coloured glasses, and feeling that you and"your government do care about public education, I want to invite you into my classrooms, into my school and show you where cuts cannot be made: in the amount of preparatioW time will most probably force me out of my extra curricular activities. As a coach, bor, dnd stud mentor I feel I make some of my costs to the public, the most significant i ts on 1 tion of Catholic and students. These positions'also keep me energized for my da; day classroom activitie Reduction of in support in things professional and in dealing with those who are most disruptive. One day as a Vice Principal, even in a country school such as ours would snap anyone from the view that VP's are The places where I can see significant being realized withoiit negative impact on my classroom are in a of the number of superin s and in the power of the School Board's to school |, administrators will result in less Public boards certainly would. The duplication seen with two boards operating in one locality is Morale in our school and in our board is at an all time low. The, thought of losing all of the young blood in our schools is depressing. For myself, the thought of a Public Education so inferior to a Private Education that I may wish to send my children to a Private School, or home school then is abhorrent. As Minister of Education, please, on behalf of our children and our society, argue vociferously in cabinet against these cuts. Income tax cuts are not needed nor make capi ditures on anything other than schools. Although I don't believe large boards of education have reduced Don't sell ont. Hydro To the Editor: How is it that after 90 years of public - owned, non - at electricity in Ontario, our government now thinks that we will be better off buying our electricity from profit - hungry corporations? This is like selling your house to pay off the mortgage, and then renting your house back from the new owners. Naturally the new owners will want enough rent from you to pay off the mortgage as well as a little bit more for their profit margin, is makes good sense to the fat - cat bank who get and the new fas = cat owners, who get the profits, but it makes no sense at all for the customers, Ontario Hydro's major restructuring and cost - cutting over the last 4 years have proven to be extremely successful. Hydro will pay off 25% of it's debt in the next 5 years, and still manage to keep rate increases to zero percent. In the U.S., public power is 33% cheaper on average than private power. And in the U.K, it seems to be just one scandal after another over huge wages, stock options, and pension buy - et that senior executives of privatized utilities have given So, Mr. Harrie, try So remsinivor that Ontario Hydro belongs to all of us. I don't want to see Niagara Falls sold off so that your buddies can get filthy rich at the expénse of customers who cannot afford fo take is th ho apo JA. Clarkson, Greenbank, Ontario ted at the of our i