Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Canada’s EI surplus: now you see it, now you don’t

Now that you’ve likely seen a couple of pay stubs in 2013, you may have noticed that your employer is deducting more than they did last year for Employment Insurance.

BC: CTF Calls On Minister To Reject Latest TransLink Tax Grab

• TransLink spends $1.3 billion in taxes and fares annually, but wants another $750 million in taxation tools

VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on B.C. Transportation Minister Mary Polak to outright reject the latest TransLink tax grab engineered by Lower Mainland mayors.

Can We Stop Talking About the HST Now?

Like the proverbial girlfriend we just can’t seem to get over, the Harmonized Sales Tax has dominated British Columbia’s collective political and economic mind for the past four years.

Union Attack on Canadian Companies is Laughable

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) – the umbrella organization for virtually every union in the country – held a news conference in late January to mark its self-proclaimed “Corporate Tax Freedom Day.” The report and event took aim at a long-list of Canadian businesses that, according to the CLC, are using recent reductions in business taxes to “hoard more cash” rather than re-invest into the Canadian economy.

Unions Talking Out of Both Sides of Their Mouth on Business Tax Rates

• CLC attacks companies for holding cash, while union pension funds invest hundreds of millions in the same companies

OTTAWA, ON: Canada’s union movement is talking out of both sides of its mouth, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), when it attacks Canadian businesses for holding too much cash on their balance sheets.

Systemic Aboriginal Reserve Reform Ideas

Imagine if Canada could finally lift more aboriginal people out of poverty without the tired old “spend more money” approach.

Transit Police Left Explosive Device on Plane

• FOI request by the CTF revealed Transit Police dog training exercise lost an explosive device on an Air Canada plane in 2011, putting public safety at risk
• Tens of thousands of tax dollars wasted in police and other government agency time

VANCOUVER, B.C.: Transit Police put public safety at risk and wasted tens of thousands of tax dollars when an officer left an explosive device on a commercial plane in 2011 and didn’t know it was missing for two full days, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request.

How Alberta Came to the Cliff of Debt and Tax Hikes

Alberta did not get to a state of massive, structural deficits by accident or without warning. The writing was on the wall that unsustainable spending increases before the recession of 2008 plunged Alberta into deficit, even had there not been a drop in revenues. The signs were clear after recovering from the recession that without major fiscal adjustments, Alberta would remain in a deficit position.

Ontario Doesn’t Have a Smoking Epidemic on Reserves - We Have a Crime Epidemic

Smoke shacks situated on Ontario Indian reserves have been doing a booming business in tobacco. Some of that tobacco is sold legally, some is not.

BC: CTF Releases New Year’s Tax Changes for 2013

In its annual New Year’s Tax Changes report released today, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) slammed federal and provincial governments for raiding taxpayers at a time when they need the money to make ends meet.

Another Bitter Year Brewing for B.C. Taxpayers

Once the champagne is drunk, the noisemakers go silent, the balloons pop and the New Year’s kisses end, 2013 will bring one nasty hangover for cash-strapped B.C. taxpayers.

CTF Releases Nation-Wide New Year’s Tax Changes for 2013

• Higher CPP and EI rates will eat into paycheques
• Other provincial tax grabs include rate hikes, bracket creep

OTTAWA, ON: In its annual New Year’s Tax Changes report released today, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) slammed federal and provincial governments for raiding taxpayers at a time when they need the money to make ends meet.

Ontario Losing Millions in Tobacco Tax Each Year to Contraband on Reserves

• Ontario and Ottawa losing between $689 million and $1.1 billion a year in tax revenue due to contraband

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released a new report today showing that together the provincial and federal government are losing upwards of $1.1 billion dollars annually in tobacco tax revenues due to contraband tobacco sales in Ontario alone.

BC: Taxpayers Feel Pain of Politicians Going ‘Green’

Whether it is the $783 million sewage treatment plant in Greater Victoria, the $450 million waste incinerator in Metro Vancouver or the $3 billion subway line to Vancouver’s University of British Columbia campus, these projects are nowhere near as environmentally green as politicians claim them to be.

Staggering Federal Payroll Costs Help Explain Ottawa’s Runaway Deficits

Canadians have been asking the Harper government some tough questions in recent months. Questions like: why has Canada’s federal debt jumped over 30 per cent since 2008, to over $600 billion? Why did the government miss its deficit target by $1.4 billion last year, and what is pushing this year’s deficit forecast higher by more than $5 billion to $26 billion?

Keep Pushing Mr. Premier

Twenty-three year old Kristi Cunningham is ready to take on a whole new Saskatchewan – one that’s completely different than the Saskatchewan her parents grew up in.

Alberta Liquor Lessons for Ontario

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Opposition Leader, Tim Hudak, is proposing to take a page from Alberta in reforming his province’s liquor regime. In short, ending the government decreed monopoly in favor of at least some degree of private competition modeled on Alberta.

Zero Waste? Not When It Comes To Metro Vancouver Politicians

• Brodie, Corrigan, Jackson, Hunt and Reimer should pay the money back

VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on five regional mayors and councillors to pay back more than $2,000 in meeting fees they collected for taking part in Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Challenge conference on September 14.

Canada’s Federal Debt Hits (Ugly) Milestone: $600,000,000,000, Saturday, November 24th, at 11:

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) revealed today that Canada’s federal debt will cross the $600 billion mark tomorrow, Saturday, November 24^th, at three seconds before 11:19 pm. Canadians can log on to www.debtclock.ca Saturday night to witness the event live on the Internet.

Harper and Flaherty don’t have a revenue problem

Canada’s credibility as a money manager took a beating recently when federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty cried poor and forecast four years of bigger-than-expected deficits, with no balanced budget until the 2016-17 fiscal year.