November 4, 2014
Friends —
While Conservative Members of Parliament, earning $163,700 a year, are sharing their excitement about the Harper government’s income-splitting tax scheme, experts across the country are unified in dismissing it as bad policy:
“Most families would receive no benefit whatsoever.” – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Jan ‘14
“85 per cent of Canadian taxpayers will get precisely nothing from this cut… There is no justification whatsoever for introducing income-splitting on social or economic grounds.” – Scott Clark and Peter DeVries, iPolitics, Oct ‘14
“The Harper government’s parental income splitting plan is designed in such a way that guarantees it will only make a difference to the richest Canadians.” – Kathleen Lahey, Professor, Queen’s University, The Globe and Mail, Oct ‘14
They’re not alone. The late former Conservative Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, spoke out against it. And, just days ago, Minister of State for Social Development Candice Bergen acknowledged that income splitting won’t benefit single-parent families. What’s the point of a tax cut if it doesn’t help those who need it most?
Our stance is clear: It is simply not fair that middle-class families should have to pay more to give families like Mr. Harper’s a $2,000 tax break.
Read this op-ed to find out why Justin Trudeau is speaking out against income splitting.
If you think income splitting is unfair because it only benefits a small percentage of Canadians, please sign this petition.
Thank you.
Scott Brison
Liberal Finance Critic
Sign the petition