Madam Speaker, when I was interrupted by question period I was going through the 62 different tax increases which the Liberals have brought in since they formed the government in 1993. I was looking at what type of money the Liberals had brought in with the tax increases and what they were doing with that money.
I talked about the tax increases which were implemented in 1994 and 1995. In 1996 the Liberals increased personal income taxes 11 times and took $260 million out of the pockets of individual taxpayers. They did that through an RRSP contribution limit freeze, which broke an election promise I might add. Then they went to pension plan contribution limits being frozen, once again breaking an election promise. Then they forced seniors to begin early withdrawals from their RRSPs. Then the Liberals forced seniors to begin early withdrawals from their RPPs. It gets better. The Liberals went on to eliminate the deductibility of administration fees for RRSPs. They forced people to pay for the fees, which they had not done before. They then went on to eliminate the deductibility of administration fees for RRIFs. The Liberals took $260 million out of people's pockets.
I previously commented on something else the Liberals did in 1996. They increased taxes on Canadian pensioners abroad. They fleeced seniors for another $10 million. They did not just stop with individual income tax increases. No, the Liberals had more on their agenda. They increased the burden by $10 million on the overseas employment tax credit for people who could not find a job in Canada, probably due to high taxes.
It always raises the question, with $260 million in personal income tax increases and $70 million in three corporate tax increases which the Liberals brought in in 1996, for a total increased tax burden of $330 million, what types of things did the Liberals do with that extra $330 million?
There is a program in Prince Edward Island called “I want to be a millionaire”. It cost $31,000. Six average taxpayers had to pay their full tax bills just so the Liberals could have that program. What they did not tell people was that the government was making a number of people millionaires that year, and they happened to be the cronies and friends of the Prime Minister.
That program was not how to raise money for Jean, or somebody with that first name. It was not about raising money for the Prime Minister, and therefore getting all sorts of lucrative contracts. That was not what that program was about, but that is the reality of it. These Liberals are very good about lining the pockets of those who support them, and lining the pockets of the friends of the Prime Minister. It does not even matter if they are Canadians. They can be overseas for all they care. They make sure that they look after their own.
If someone gives a couple of thousand dollars to the Prime Minister's campaign in Shawinigan, it is a sure bet there will be a sweet deal on a hotel or something else. That is a shame.
What else did the Liberals spend the $330 million on that they took out of taxpayers in 1996? They spent $100,000 to establish an 18-hole golf course in Sudbury. That is pretty serious money for the average person. As a matter of fact, 21 taxpayers had to pay to the government income tax on everything they made. Twenty-one people paid tax to establish the golf course in Sudbury. There are plenty of golf courses which the government has subsidized. Sudbury is but one of a long list.
What business is it of the government to take money from 21 hard-working Canadians, their full tax bills, to subsidize golf courses? How do the Liberals account for that type of spending? Is that the justification they use for $330 million more in the form of tax increases in 1996? They ought to hang their heads in shame.
I will get to the most egregious of all. What did the Liberal Party of Canada receive from the taxpayer? How much did the taxpayers who never voted Liberal contribute to the Liberal Party? Over $2 million in a tax subsidy.
These budget bills are a sham. What the Liberals do not say is that they have hiked taxes 62 times since they took office in 1993. There have been 27 corporate tax increases, 22 personal income tax increases, six bracket creep increases and seven Canada pension plan increases. What was all of this for? It was for sex changes for soldiers, an unelected Senate, a fountain in Shawinigan, the Prime Minister's cronies, dumb blonde joke books, Bubbles Galore , meat dresses, HRDC boondoggles, studies for lawn ornaments, Bombardier, other forms of corporate welfare, as well as $200 million which was wasted in the budgetary estimate of HRDC. Shame on the government for taking that money from taxpayers.