Madam Speaker, much of what the hon. member said is so close to my philosophy I am wondering if maybe he would like to move over and talk about it.
It is very true about the complexity of this system. The system has become so complex that I do not think this government, nor did the Conservative government, knows the effect of a transaction when it changes the Income Tax Act. When we stand in the House and ask the questions: "Just how much does that cost" or "How much revenue will you receive", they are estimates. They are estimates that can be out anywhere from $100 million to a billion dollars. The system is so complex today that there is no logic, rhyme or reason as to exactly how much money one gets from changes in this act.
Just one other comment on the long-term effects. I think that is one of the real symptoms of the problem in the Income Tax Act. Today it is typically used as a quick knee-jerk reaction to try to try to resolve a problem. You are going to see that in the excise tax with the cigarette smuggling situation.
What we have to do is to get governments to start looking longer term. We do have to simplify the system. That is how to make it effective.