Why corporate tax cuts?

[Telly Savalas]

In the last couple of days, Paul Martin has been blathering on about how his corporate tax breaks are aimed at helping small businesses. If this is such a great idea and so necessary, why wasn't it mentioned in the campaign last June?

The only reason I've heard that these have been foisted on us with no prior notice is because they are timed to coincide with similar corporate tax cuts recently instituted in the U.S. so that our tax environment will be competitive with the states. But isn't the reasoning here that keeping taxes in line with the states will supposedly encourage large corporations to stay here rather than jumping across the border? How does this help small business then? If I own a corner store in Winnipeg, why do I care what the corporate tax rates are in the U.S.? The only explanation I can think of is that Paul Martin is invoking those specious "trickle down" arguments that Reagan popularized.

[applegrove]

1. Part of all that sounds true. Also small business people do incorporate

so they need a break at times too.

The fact is that deregulation results in the mid sized corporations disappearing. So corporations are either huge or small. Many, many more small corporations/small businesses will be opening locally. That is where all the jobs will be.

What is better, that a corporation pays 30,000 more in taxes or that they hire another person? I know I'd rather it go to a job. But they should pay some taxes. I don't know what a fair rate is.

I wish we lived somewhere other than near the USA. Would be much easier to do things our own way.

[HEyHEY]

2. I'd like to see cuts for small corps - there should be a line

[Telly Savalas]

3. Might be a really good idea.

But if that was Paul Martin's intent, why didn't he mention it last June?

Also if small corps are in need of tax breaks, why is he waiting until 2008 or so to phase them in?

Julian wouldn't be bullshitting everyone like this.

[applegrove]

4. He didn't mention it last June because he was running as a Liberal

and wanted the attention to be on how we maintain social programs. That is what this next election should be on now. Because that is actually the fight. And that is what the last election was about. There can only be so much to the message. Most Canadians are fiscal conservatives and want social programs that are lean and efficient so that the economy remains vibrant.The NDP govern that way when they get into power.

The NDP has a greater role to play for sure these days. And they are a much tighter machine than in the past. For sure we are into a time of coalition governments. I just wish they would support Martin so that the Gomery inquiry would be published and we would realize that most of the program was about not sitting on your keister when the break-up of the country is at play.

And then a few Liberal pigs came along an started slopping money around and being sleazy. But that that was minimal.

I do think that Martin stepped into a trap when he made the deal with Newfoundland and NS. For sure these provinces should have a chance at becoming resource wealthy in resource wealthy times. But it seems it was at the urging of Harper that these stands were taken. Which would be the agenda of the neocons in the USA to break apart the federation and play one province off the other. It should have been thought through at a national level before the deals were made.