Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on some of the provisions the Reform members are making today.
One is that the system is complex and indeed it is complex. Our society over the years has become more complex and that is a fact of life.
One of my observations on the income tax system has been not so much that it is complex, but I think some of the things that the members have been drawing attention to is the fact that we keep changing it all the time. In fact 1972 was a major time of amendment and reform to the income tax system, as was the early eighties. Now members are proposing another change to the system. Every time we change the system it means we do not understand it any more. It takes us another 10 or 15 years to understand the system.
I would like to suggest to the member that possibly a more beneficial method is just to leave the system partially alone. We need to change some things where some are getting better benefits out of the system than others.
I would like the member to deal with another aspect which is the main part of my question. With the flat tax Reform Party members are proposing today, how can they justify the shift in tax burden from upper income groups to the middle class?
Essentially the mathematics are very simple. If we have to collect x number of dollars from the system we are going to have to collect it from various aspects of our tax system. Right now our tax system is progressive. By definition it has to follow that with the flat tax they are proposing today there is a reallocation of tax burden from the upper income group to the middle class. Could the hon. member explain that?