PST should not hinge on ideology
By Letter to the Editor on December 10, 2020.
I found the guest column by Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (Lethbridge Herald, Dec. 2) somewhat disturbing. Whether or not Alberta should implement a provincial sales tax (PST) should be, of course, a matter of serious debate, but it should not be a matter of choosing ideology over reason, and Mr. Terrazzano’s column is pure ideology.
The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CPT) is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization that was founded in 1990. Since it is a non-profit, it doesn’t pay taxes. It describes itself as “A citizen advocacy group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government,” and claims to have over 200,000 supporters. However, the actual membership is limited to 20 members, and it often has as few as five. A quick look at their web page will give you a good idea of its mission.
In this column, Mr. Terrazzano exhorts Alberta MLAs to oppose a PST. His argument doesn’t take into account regional differences or current exigencies such as COVID-19. It expresses the opinion, not of a huge mass of people as is implied by the term “federation,” but of a very few people who see taxation in any form as evil. Did the CPT decided to send out this letter now because they sense that the UCP government is not quite holding firm on their “No PST” line?
Taxes support our social programs, pay for education, medical services, policing, provincial and municipal infrastructure, and much more. They underlie a structure that exists for the greater good. Less tax does not mean better government, nor does it automatically create an “Alberta advantage.” An Alberta provincial sales tax would insure consistent and reliable revenue that would mean we would not be subject to the ups and downs of the oil industry or other factors. It would also mean that visitors to our province would contribute to our provincial coffers, as Albertans do when they visit any other province.
It’s unlikely that the idea of a PST will even get to the legislature for debate. But wherever and whenever that debate occurs, let it be on the basis of facts and informed opinion, not ideology.
Ian Hepher
Lethbridge
-1
So many workers cheat and avoid paying income tax.. so I’m all for a PST to make them pay at least a bit more
So while you watch this phoney conservative government continue to give away our oil royalties that belong to all Albertans and increase tax breaks for their rich friends you are willing to let them force you into a PST , where is the intelligence in that?
Have you forgotten the fact that economist Trevor Tombe of the U of C pointed out that had our previous governments continued to collect oil royalties at the Lougheed levels Albertans would have an additional $575 billion to enjoy. Add that to the $150 billion in lost taxes that Ralph Klein’s daughter Angie was so upset with her father about and the $260 billion we are warned it could cost to clean up the orphan well mess that I was involved with prior to Klein changing the regulations to benefit his rich friends and it isn’t hard to understand how badly Albertans have been screwed out of our money.
We know our true conservative hero Peter Lougheed would never have allowed it to happen.
And the broken record plays over and over and over and over again! WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE PULL THE PLUG-PLEASE!
Once again Johnny isn’t man enough to handle the truth and has nothing to prove that I’m wrong. He willingly supports anyone who attaches the word conservative to their name and believes everything the guy feeds him, and tries to defend him with stupid comments, like above.
Is he aware that farmers and ranchers are looking for people to sue who helped create the orphan well mess on their farmlands, rendering them worthless due to these abandoned well? . The ones I have spoken with over the years all tried to help us vote these phony conservatives out but guys like Johnny and his ignorant friends wouldn’t let us. Now look at the mess we are in.
Maybe Johnny and his friends should google the recent W5 program that shows what they have done to many of our relatives and friends and maybe they can tell us how much they are going to be willing to help pay for cleanup of the mess they helped create?
I can be just as sarcastic as Johnny but the difference is I have the facts to prove it and Johnny has nothing as the lawyers point out.
“W5: Inactive Oil Wells abandoned across Alberta Youtube.”