Mr. Speaker, I think the member missed my point. We are asking Canadians to pay taxes on money that they have earned for the sole purpose of paying taxes, or in some cases, they are asked to pay taxes on money that is already taxed. That was the point that I was making. Indeed, it was facetious to a degree because we are talking about double taxation with other countries.
However, I would like to still emphasize the fact that we need to reduce the rates of taxation. I would like to give the member a quick lesson in economics. I do not know whether he has ever heard of the Laffer curve, but the fact is that in many instances if the tax rates are reduced, tax revenues are actually increased. In other words, governments would have more money for programs because there would be more economic activity. Money would be left in the hands of individuals, citizens, taxpayers, entrepreneurs and business people who drive the economy.
Just because the tax rate is reduced does not mean that there will be less money for the government. There most likely will be more, provided it is carefully planned. That is what we are advocating in this party, not reducing those valued government programs as he contends incorrectly. We want to ensure that the money is spent wisely, not foolishly, not in criminal ways as is being investigated now but rather in rational ways. We should provide programs we want with a tax structure that is fair and that is a great driving force to our economy rather than a damper on it.