Friday, October 03, 2008

 

a Modest Proposal

In last nights debate Mr. Harper made the statement that the tax credit that parents can get on their income tax for children enrolled in dance lesson or sports activities etc. is a form of cultural support. The concern I have with the credit is that not all parents can afford such activities. their is a current Canadians Tire add that claims that 1 out of 3 parents can't afford to enrol their children in hockey so they have the Jump Start programme. It seems to me that all tax payers end up subsidizing those parents who have the money to enroll their children through the GST, Gas taxes or excise taxes plus income taxes. If instead of giving the credit the government took the $s the credit costs in revenue and gave it to municipalities then the costs for programmes could be reduced and more could afford to go. As is is now the poor and those of us who are retired or without children are making a cash transfer to those who are wealth enough to have children in programmes. This seems the wrong way to have wealth redistibution.

Comments:
I fully agree. Plus it has nothing to do with offsetting the cuts to the arts and cultural industries. That's akin to replacing cuts in manufacturing sector subsidies or tax breaks with tax credits for families who send their kids to machine shop courses.
 
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