Thank you, Chair.
Thank you all for being here today. We really appreciate your input. We've had a very fulsome discussion over the last number of weeks.
I'm going to start with Ms. Pohlmann. Under our government we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio here in Canada, at 32%. Getting down to 25% by 2021 is our goal, the lowest in the G7. We have a AAA credit rating. It's been reaffirmed year after year. Bloomberg has said that we're now going from the sixth-best to the second-best place country to be doing business with. These are all laudable accomplishments of our government.
However consumers and people on the street don't have that in mind when they go out to spend money. What they do have in mind is that they now pay 5% blended HST, rather than 7%. They know that they have more money in their pockets because our government has lowered taxes about 160 times. They know that they have more money to spend.
My question to you is this: lower taxes benefit both business and consumer, is that correct?