Diane Lebouthillier, the federal revenue minister, made the right move on Tuesday when she instructed the Canada Revenue Agency to cancel its plan to tax employee discounts.
This terrible idea had the lifespan of a fruit fly, and about as much intellectual heft. It beggars belief that the CRA was ever even serious about such an ill-conceived move.
But no. The CRA confirmed just this week that, if its proposal were implemented, the clerk at the clothing store who enjoys employee pricing on items, and the worker who gets a discount from one of his employers' suppliers, would have to record those purchases, and their employers would then be obliged to report the difference between the market costs and the discounted costs as taxable income.
The reaction was such that ceiling fans everywhere suddenly needed to be cleansed and sanitized. And understandably so.
Employee discounts provide valuable savings for lower-income Canadians who earn hourly wages in the service sector. They are also a traditional benefit provided by many businesses in order to build loyalty with their workers.
Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer leapt on the issue with glee and pointed a finger at a Liberal government that is already vulnerable on the subject of income taxes. "It's petty. It's mean-spirited," he correctly stated.
There is no evidence, though, that the government was behind it. This appears to be one of those instances where an Ottawa bureaucracy coughed up a hairball that no one was aware had been forming.
But the fact it came to light while the Trudeau government is struggling to explain its plan to reform the questionable tax advantages of personal incorporation risked adding to the perception that the Liberals are clueless about the taxes that Canadians pay.
Rather than wallowing in more terrible messaging, Ms. Lebouthillier did her government a favour by killing this inane proposal quickly and without mercy.