McGUINTY OFFERS HST EXEMPTIONS FOR LIBERAL FRIENDS

NEWS

Why did Dalton McGuinty choose to exempt donuts and newspapers from the HST, while still forcing seniors and middle class families to pay higher taxes on gas, hydro, home-heating fuel and retirement savings?

It is clearly not because Dalton McGuinty has any great love of lower taxes.  The same Premier who came to office on a promise not to raise taxes has already increased business taxes and imposed the largest sales tax increase in Ontario history (the so-called ‘health tax’).

Instead, it might have something to do with who is lobbying the government for exemptions.  The lobbyist for the Canadian Newspaper Association is none other than Toronto Centre Liberal Riding Association President Jason Grier, who has recently made headlines for his cozy relationship with former Deputy Premier George Smitherman.

QUOTES

“When it comes to the HST, there are two kinds of people in Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario.  The Liberal insiders, and the Out-of-Luck stuck paying the bills.”

- Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak

“The McGuinty Government is providing tax breaks on snack-foods but jacking up the taxes on retirement savings.  When it comes to concerned seniors, Dalton McGuinty might as well be saying ‘Let them eat donuts’”.

- Ontario PC MPP Lisa MacLeod

QUICK FACTS

• An average middle-class family of four – including two middle-income parents and two high-school-aged children – could expect to pay approximately $2,500 more a year in taxes due to the HST being applied to a broader range of goods.

• A typical senior couple could expect to pay approximately $2,863.87 more a year in taxes due to the HST being applied to a broader range of goods.