Evidence of meeting #8 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was carbon.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
Thank you.
Ms. Vandenberg, I have a couple of questions based on the requests you had, and one very quickly with the respect to the new $2,000 child tax credit that we introduced in the budget in 2007. I noted that one of the requests you had last year was to raise the annual child tax benefit. I wonder, in terms of complementing what the request was last year, if we at least should take a reasonable step in that direction.
5:55 p.m.
Director, World Vision Canada
Thank you for the question.
A reasonable step, I think we would agree, but we would like to see more.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
We all want to see more money back in the hands of those who need it, that's for sure.
One of the requests you have also made is increasing the maximum federal tax credit, from 29% up a little higher. I note that's certainly not an uncommon request. It doesn't just come from those involved with World Vision. It's something that seems to be a common thread throughout in terms of additional assistance obviously to charities and additional assistance to not-for-profit organizations.
I wondered whether World Vision had a strategy as to how to get there over a time period, and if you had a percentage that you thought we should get to, whether it should be significantly over 29%, or whether something like 34% or 35% would seem to make sense.
5:55 p.m.
Director, World Vision Canada
Thanks again for that question as well.
We don't have a particular strategy or a particular percentage in mind. We just compare, for example, to political parties and how that's 100%. We think 29% to 100%, somewhere in between there, would be more reasonable, but no, we don't have a strategy or a particular figure in mind.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
Rick Dykstra Conservative St. Catharines, ON
All right. It's just something you may want to consider in terms of getting back to the committee, too. If there is a bit of a strategy that you had on that, I'm sure most of us would be interested in seeing that.
5:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
The time is gone.
I will now move to Mr. Turner. You have five minutes.
5:55 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Thank you; and my thanks as well to the presenters, very much.
Janet Ecker, I've a question for you. In your brief you have an interesting statement that tax rates that allow program spending to increase by 8% a year are clearly too high. Could you explain that statement, please?
5:55 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
One of the things that I think all governments have to be cautious about is their spending. We have expressed views in the past that looking at the federal government overall in terms of the spending that has occurred, we don't think it is sustainable. Keeping tax rates lower can also be a good discipline on government in terms of helping them to be more effective in how they use those tax dollars for program spending.
5:55 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
All right. So you're raising a caution on government spending.
I believe you've been in government yourself, haven't you?
5:55 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Yes, that's what I thought. Actually, you managed the finances of the Province of Ontario—correct?
5:55 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
For a brief period of time, yes. We had several very distinguished finance ministers during our term.
5:55 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Right, but you were a finance minister, and a Conservative finance minister, so you share a philosophical bent in certain ways with this government.
How would you categorize the spending romp this government has been on since it came to office?
5:55 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
Well, as I said earlier, not only with tax relief but also with government spending, it has to be a balance. On the one hand you can't, as opposition has sometimes been known to do, criticize the current government for spending reductions, and then at the same time criticize them for being spendthrift.
I would certainly encourage them to continue to find efficiencies where they can, to continue to find ways to deliver services more effectively, because one does need to manage cost growth. We have been concerned about that and would encourage the current government to push very hard to find savings.
6 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
But I read into your statement that you find it unacceptable that government spending would increase by this rate. Is that correct?
6 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
Well, when you look at economic growth and at spending growth, the two have great difficulty matching up. So we would encourage the government to continue to find more efficiencies and to manage program spending.
6 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
They should be managing program spending.
6 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
All right.
On personal income tax, lowering marginal rates, again, I guess your government was known for, obviously, cutting spending and cutting tax burden on Ontarians. This government's first income tax measure was to increase the marginal income tax rate. Was that a good or a bad idea?
6 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
I think what the government certainly has been committed to is bringing down overall tax rates in a number of ways. Certainly they've provoked some controversy about some of the decisions they've made about how to do that, and I will leave that for you and your colleagues here from all parties to argue over.
I think what is very important is that they continue to bring down tax rates. Personal income tax we think is very important to do that, and we have seen some progress in that. We also think they need to continue to bring down the corporate tax rate.
6 p.m.
Liberal
6 p.m.
President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance
When you see the overall picture that the government is putting forward for their tax relief, we think that is to be encouraged, and we certainly would encourage more.
6 p.m.
Liberal
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
I'm just talking about personal income tax, since it's the only issue you're relating to rather specifically. Where do you want personal income tax rates to go, as opposed to where they are at the moment?
