Is it wrong to expect that taxes the government imposes on us, should be fairly and evenly applied? The carbon tax is not – period – and it should go!

This morning I posted a link to a Letter to the Editor that had been sent in to Kamloops This Week by John Sternig of Heffley Creek, which is just a few minutes north of Kamloops.  Part of the comments of his letter stated that:

The BC Liberal government also claims the carbon tax is rebated to British Columbians.

Page 66 of the B.C. Budget confirms this claim is true — WITH THE CAVEAT that 59 per cent of the rebate is paid to profitable industries and corporations.

In other words, major polluters in B.C. receive most of the carbon tax collected.

Some of these are the very oil and gas businesses that aren’t taxed a dime for venting megatonnes of greenhouse gasses from their pipelines ...

I didn’t make any comment to the letter, just posted it as something I thought others might be interested in reading.  Well retiring Kamloops South Thompson BC Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger saw the post, and the comments of the letter obviously didn’t sit well with him.

His response was:

Ummm, Conservatives are supposed to understand that income taxes are regressive to job creation; if you leave their earnings as much as possible in the pockets and bank accounts of people and businesses who earned the money, those people and businesses spend it in ways that demonstrate what goods and services the public wants. Then, job creators respond by hiring people to provide them, those new workers pay taxes, and so on, and so on, and so on. Small businesses, (of which we now have over 400,000 in B.C.), employ well over 1 million British Columbians. Big businesses pay dividends on their shares to millions of British Columbians, and their pension plans.

The carbon tax is one of the few taxes that is voluntary; you only pay on what you choose to use. If you make energy-efficient decisions, you pay less. If you want to drive a Hummer to show off, you pay more. Taxpayers don't get to choose their income tax rates. When the BC Liberals cut income taxes to the lowest in Canada in 2001, job numbers began rapidly rising. In spite of the worldwide economic shock of 9/11, they resumed rising, and BC went over 2 million jobs for the first time in history. Now, in the face of a continuing worldwide recession, we have the highest # of jobs ever, (over 2,400,000 and rising). We are beating our own record.

Well the fact that Kevin chose to say the tax was ‘voluntary’ definitely got my dander up, which was why I then responded by saying:

The carbon tax is in NO WAY voluntary to the people that MUST drive their vehicles for work --- it is also NOT voluntary to heat our homes., This of us that live in the interior, and especially in the North, VOLUNTEER a lot more than the majority of British Columbian’s that live in the milder climates of the coast where less is needed for heating, and where there is readily available public transit. AGAIN this is a tax that is unfairly applied across the province to families that see their pockets picked more and more by this government.

Unbelievably my MLA, who I questionably say was elected to represent the interest of constituents in Kamloops South, made one of the most ridiculous agreements I have every heard:

We can choose what kind of vehicles we drive, for fuel efficiency. And yeah, yeah, lots of us need 4x4 trucks, which burn more - but we live in places where people can make $120,000/yr (average) working for mines - salaries most city people can't even dream of - or other well-paying resource industries - and anybody doing so can afford the carbon tax on their diesel fuel. We can choose to live in homes that are well-insulated, and well-maintained. If we are low income British Columbians, we have very generous public support of all kinds, including tax credits, and most pay little or no income tax to BC at all. You are talking through your hat, Sue. And Al, you should know better than to play the city people vs rural people card; getting anywhere in a car in Vancouver or Victoria takes far longer than in Kamloops, let alone small town BC.

I added the ‘bold’ font to highlight to what I wanted to be clearly understood and seen, and which led to my next comment:

So what you are saying is because you believe that 'some' people in the interior and north make more money, that we should and have an obligation to pay more in carbon taxes? That sounds more like an argument I would have expected to hear from the NDP. Aren't they the ones that say you make more, so you should pay more?

Not everyone makes the kind of money you are talking about. This tax is just one more example of the flawed ideas that get rolled out, and then after the fact stories are created to justify the rationale.

Kevin’s response?

No, that is NOT what I am saying, Al. Read what I wrote carefully, enough times that you honestly believe you understand it.

Well I have to say that is indeed what I read, although I will admit that he may not have taken the time to clearly think out the full impact of what his response implied.

Think about it; people that live in the interior and north do not all make the kind of money he is talking about, and yet are still impacted, in a greater way, than those that do. Many are just getting by, and ANY additional taxes they pay takes away from the needs of their families … the main ones being food and shelter … all of which are impacted by the Carbon Tax.

Here’s the last two comments of our exchange:

Kevin Krueger:

If you're ever elected, Al, you will find it very frustrating when no matter how plainly you write or speak, even good folk like you will choose to say other things are "directly implied." Low income people are supported in countless ways by our government, and pay very little carbon tax if they spend little money. They are subsidized for their living expenses, and if they are that low income, probably don't have vehicles, nor drive them much if they do.

ME:
I understand and realize that those in the lower end of the socio-economic scale receive help -- and they should. My comments however are more directed to those of us in the ever shrinking middle class that are more directly impacted by decisions being made by your government. Many have not seen any increase to their wages and salaries for years, and yet the taxes and fees we are being hit with continue to rise.

It is my personal opinion that the Carbon Tax is unfairly applied, and hits the middle class harder than any other group -- just as the HST currently does. Furthermore, I believe neither was well thought out, as to the impacts they would have.

Is it wrong to expect that taxes the government imposes on us, should be fairly and evenly applied?  The carbon tax is not – period – and it should go!

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.  What do you think, I'm interested in hearing what you have to say.