The Ontario Tories Have Lost Their Voice in the HST Debate
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan
Many Ontarians are wondering: where is the official opposition in Queens Park? The Ontario Liberal government is drowning in deficit, mishandling taxpayer money, struggling to deal with the eHealth scandal, and now they seek to introduce a harmonized sales tax. These issues are political dynamite, so why haven’t the Tories jumped all over the wounded doe that is the Liberal government?
Dalton McGuinty and Dwight Duncan have made quite a pair of populist media darlings lately. They’ve been trumpeting the virtues of their new HST exemptions for coffee, newspapers, and homes under $400 000. While the Liberals are magnanimously laying these pearls before the swine, the weak response that has come from the Ontario opposition continues to descend into ineptitude.
Tax harmonization has been a pet project of Federal Finance Minister Jim Flarety for a long time. He has made no bones about his disgust for the high taxes on business in Ontario, going so far as to accuse Dalton McGuinty of administering the most severe tax regime in the entire G8 bloc. McGuinty has made it clear that without the funds and cooperation of the federal Conservatives, the HST couldn’t have happened. In effect, the Ontario Liberals have allied themselves with Stephen Harper’s federal government on this issue.
According to Tory leader Tim Hudak, support for the HST is not a prerequisite for calling yourself a conservative. He has been traveling the province trying to raise awareness about this new ‘Dalton Sales Tax’. This voice of dissent has been joined by the NDP, as well as a number of citizen’s organizations. The National Citizens Coalition claims the HST will cost the average taxpayer an additional $800 to $1,000 annually. The opposition calls it a shameless tax grab. They have vowed to fight the move.
Though Hudak has made his position clear, there are signs that his Conservative caucus is divided. Bob Runciman (Leeds Greenville) virtually came out in support of the HST the day before the Liberals dropped their budget. Meanwhile, Norm Miller (Perry Sound Muskoka) has voiced the valid concerns of rural Ontarians that taxes on heating and gasoline are already high enough.
There is a bonanza of populist resentment towards the Ontario Liberals that is waiting to be tapped. Yet, the media campaign against the Dalton tax seems suspiciously half-hearted. Where are the attack ads? Where are the conservative pundits? Where are the editorials? I’ve heard more public service announcements about the rumored local television tax than the Liberal program to reform our entire tax system. The silence speaks volumes.
The main thrust of the HST argument is that it will reduce taxes on businesses, which will intern reduce the price of their products for consumers, and create new jobs. The HST will cut the general Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate to 12% from 14%, and reduce it to 10 per cent over the next three years. It also cuts a full percentage point off the taxes paid by small businesses, and eliminates a deduction surtax of 4.25%.
The Ontario Tory caucus is hesitant to condemn this business friendly tax reform. Business leaders of all kinds remain supportive of the HST. Lee Crispino of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has sent an open letter to the opposition leaders clarifying that his organization supports the HST. Their studies have been misinterpreted by both opposition parties.
Gordon Campbell’s government in B.C is feeling the populist lash as the NDP picked up a Vancouver seat in the recent federal by-election. So where is the outrage in Ontario?
The public outcry against the HST is heard by the Tories, but their reaction has been muted and diluted. Judging from the division in the caucus, the Tories aren’t too keen on the idea of being at odds with Stephen Harper and the Ottawa Conservatives, nor can they allow the Liberals to become the business friendly party in Ontario.
If we look closely at the Ontario Tories opposition to tax harmonization, we will see that it is more of an academic argument. Many Conservatives see the sense in reforming the tax system. Some opposition members have proposed a different tax rate. They’ve also suggested that the harmonization should wait until Ontario is on more solid economic footing. The outright opposition of Tim Hudak is not necessarily a resounding sentiment felt throughout the Conservative ranks.
The HST is a serious issue in itself, however, the mixed messages and the ineffective campaigning of the opposition is an even greater concern. Dalton McGuinty and his Liberals should be on the back foot. If the Conservatives can’t score some points off of the HST, then how about the eHealth scandal, or the ludicrous deficit? It’s time for the Opposition to start spending some dollars and generating some buzz. Thus far, their strategy seems to be to dither on the issues, and then go limp.
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Tags: conservatives, hst, liberals, McGuinty
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December 1st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
How does the Liberal govt justify increasing taxes when they are the ones involved in wasteful spending. Ontarions already pay a Lions’ share of the taxes only for the govt to squander our hard-earned dollars on scandals like eHealth. Introducing the HST will only mean that the money collected in taxes will go even quicker without any accountability.
How do we as Ontarions oppose such tax increases and voice our concerns? Rather than plugging the holes in wasteful spending the govt’s quick solution is to raise taxes under the banner that it is good for everyone. Last time I had to swallow something so bitter was cough medicine and that actually worked, HST cannot make the same claim.