Mr. Speaker, taxes are too high. While progress has been made in lowering the deficit, it has come at the expense of jobs and higher taxes.
If Canadians experience increases in their incomes, personal income taxes, EI and CPP premiums reduce those incomes by two-thirds. Taxes in Canada from all levels of government account for more than one-third of the GDP. CPP hikes proposed by this government with current EI premiums will further burden already over taxed Canadians.
Clearly lower taxes mean both economic and employment growth. As a nation that depends on bilateral trade with the United States, the widening tax gap between the two countries continues to damage our standard of living.
If the government is serious about jobs for all Canadians in this new economy, it must now get serious about tax cuts and lower EI premiums as Canadians have earned this right.
We are the only political party that is advocating tax cuts now.