Monday, June 27, 2005

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Tax Freedom Day

ClearAsMud
TheMightyFraserVille


So I've been reading about the latest spat that the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has been having with the Fraser Institute about the the latter's methodology in calculating 'Tax Freedom Day' (ie. that day when Canadians are supposedly free from tax for the rest of the year).

Turns out that the wayLeftCCPA has pointed out that the wayRightFI restricts its calculations to 'cash income' only.

In so doing the CCPA claims that the FI's calculations are 'prepostrously exaggerated' such that Tax Freedom Day actully comes in April, not late June as the the latter group has claimed.

The FI's rejoinder?

Well, they do not respond to the validity of the claim at all. Instead, they just fall back on an old saw that cash income (ie.working people's wages and pension) is a standard measure of income used by Statistic's Canada.

But in so doing, the FI actually made a very important admission by omission....

Specifically, it is an admission that if all that non-cash income stuff, stuff like capital gains (ie. rich people's wages), were taxed appropriately the date would be rolled back even farther.

So there you have it.

Straight from the smart boys at the Fraser Institute.

End the free ride for the rich and everything, and everybody, will be just fine.

Geez!

What a novel concept.

Wonder why nobody ever thought of it before........

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