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Ontario Finance Minister took your questions

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 2:42 PM EDT 28/03/08

Dwight Duncan on the 2008 budget and Ontario's economy ...Read the full article

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  1. Troy Philips from Toronto, Canada writes: He didn't answer my question: Where is the bank of evidence to support continued expansion of government programs when the experience around the globe over the last 20 years demonstrates pretty clearly that smaller government and lower taxes are about the most powerful actions a government can take to improve the lot of its citizens. Anyone who has been going to Ireland for a couple of decades can attest to the stimulative effect of dropping taxes. By creating a low tax region, foreign businesses will absolutely relocate here. Instead of trying to prop up decaying industries that have become uncompetitive because of unions and poor management, why not try to appeal to all businesses. I'd rather draw businesses with a better mix of blue collar and white collar jobs than simply supporting one or two industries with mostly dead end assembly line jobs. Unfortunately for us, most Canadian politicians lack the testicular fortitude to make the changes necessary to avoid a relentless decline in our standard of living. Look how long it took for the unions and poor management to push GM and Ford to the brink. It was a predictable decline for GM and it is similarly predictable that our economy will suffer under the weight of too much government spending as the boomers start consuming health services in a big way. Trudeau is long gone, but it is us and our kids who will be digging out from under the mess he created. Amazingly, each new Liberal government scarcely learns anything from our history.
  2. Vern McPherson from writes:
    No wonder he didn't answer that scripted COns rant ..................

    it would have been a waste of his time ............
  3. Douglas MacDONALD from Canada writes: Actually Troy if you were to seriously look at both federal and provincial budgets over a long number of years Liberal govts have demonstrated more fiscal prudence than any other govts.
  4. Jack Napier from Ottawa, Canada writes: Troy - Your clearly intelligent and understand economics and historical experience. I find it fascinating how liberals refer to their economic policies of subsidies to specific sectors (not coincidentally the sectors that keep the McGuinty in office) as philosphocially different than reduced general taxation. They act as if the choice of the best economic policies are still up for debate. They are not. Reduced corporate income taxes across the board is better for the economy than subsidies, end of conversation. Unfortunately, the liberals can convince the ignorant public that this isn't the case, especially the special interst groups that are arbitrarily given the hard earned tax dollars of all the other Canadians. My advice to you is accept the fact that Canadians, especially Ontarians, will never be smart enough to understand how the world really works, and are far too intellectually lazy to make an effort to figure it out.
  5. Tony . from Waterloo, Canada writes:
    I'm rather disapointed by the answer provided to Tim Ingram from London's question, re: personal income taxes and surtaxes.

    Ontario's personal income tax system is a MESS! First Harris/Eves made a mess of things by 'cutting' taxes and adding in surtaxes. Then McGuinty added to the mess with his 'Health Premium' tax-by-another-name.

    As it stands now, a high-income earner in Ontario (someone who earns more than $75,000... not really all that 'high income', but I digress) pays FOUR separate income taxes! First their base tax, then the surtax, then a second surtax again and finally the health tax on top of it all. The end result of all this? Nothing but a waste of time and resources!

    Ontario desperately needs to re-do our tax system. Sure the odd person out might come out ahead of behind the game depending on the situation, but unless they do something stupid probably 90% of the people end up paying within about $100/year of what they were paying before. In fact, better yet, we could fire half the staff that do personal income tax collection for the government since they would no longer be needed and pretty much everyone could come out ahead of the game!

    My plan for Ontario?

    Harmonize GST and PST at 13%, no special exemptions or other nonsense like that

    Cut corporate taxes to 10%, no more special rate for manufacturing.

    Eliminate both surtaxes and the health premium an set 4 tax brackets at exactly the same dollar value as the feds use.

    Any party care to step up to the plate on these has my vote. In the last Provincial election only the Green Party seemed remotely willing to make these sorts of changes, and even their plans were a far cry from what I'm looking for. The Liberals and Tories were both absolutely useless, neither had anything meaningful to bring to the table while the NDP were worse then useless.
  6. Sue W from Canada writes: Troy Philips from Toronto, Canada writes: He didn't answer my question: Where is the bank of evidence to support continued expansion of government programs.

    There isn't any.

    And since when do politicians give out the name of one specific government supplier, over another? How inappropriate is that?.

    NothernLights. The part-time 'president' of the company is Val. No last name. Just Val.

    Transparency. Like our politicians and government.
  7. Ernest Stapleton from Canada writes: The Cost to companies is much more then CIT rate Duncan.

    He just picked a number that he could say was better then the Fed's then point the finger back at them. Why not work together with the Fed's and you would have even lower CIT. Never lets just say we are lower then you are we are lower then you are.

    Once ontario lets bad businesses fall and stop pushing their failure on the people and good businesses. Then they will have competitive business enviroment. Until then we will get CIT we are lower then you are BS.
  8. Sean L. from Toronto Center, Canada writes: Well, after reading the softballs that Jim Sheppard carefully selected and pitched to his friend Dwight Duncan, I only have one question:

    Jim, when were you planning to let the Globe know that you had accepted employment as the press secretary for the provincial liberals?

    Thanks for another pathetic piece of journalism. Evidently the Globe no longer recalls that the media's role is to hold governments accountable and ensure electors are informed.

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