We're also concerned about the high maximum contribution levels that are allowed for RRSP and the tax-free savings account. The RRSP level is way beyond the max. At $23,000 a year, it's way beyond what most ordinary people could contribute. So effectively, that kind of a high max acts as a subsidy to the retirement incomes of the richest people.
Similarly, on the tax-free savings account, which is broadly utilized—and we're not suggesting eliminating the program, but if you look at the estimates from the finance department of tax expenditures, the cost to revenue is almost doubling every year. Even though currently it sits at about $305 million in 2012, it could go up to $6 billion a year. We raise that because we've heard that's one of the things the government is thinking of increasing, the benefit, which would be disastrous in terms of the cost to revenue. So we're not saying get rid of it, but we are saying there should be a cap set on it. That would not hurt the vast majority of Canadians. They would not be negatively affected by that at all. It would just make the system fairer.
There are also a number of boutique tax cuts and fossil fuel subsidies that we think should be examined because many of them are ineffective, and they are not fair, and they don't serve the public good.