Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Burnaby—New Westminster for his question.
I hope that the Liberals will give us an answer to that question. I think that most Canadians will be very disappointed when they file their income tax return because they will not get any of the money promised to them during the election campaign.
Does the government really think that the average voter who heard about a tax cut for the middle class during the election campaign understood that that tax cut would apply only to families that earn $45,000 a year and would be most beneficial to families that earn $89,000 a year? No. Voters thought that there would be a tax cut for the middle class. Many Canadians who consider themselves to be and are in fact part of the middle class are excluded from the measure proposed by the Liberals.
When the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons asked me his question, I answered that only the richest 20% of Canadians would benefit.
When looking at how this would affect couples, Luc Godbout, an eminent tax expert in Quebec, determined that if a couple had an estimated or combined income of $250,000 a year, they could receive a tax break of up to $1,120. However, a couple with a combined income of $75,000 a year, who are arguably part of the middle class, would receive an average of zero to four dollars.
I do not think that the Liberals defined middle class properly. I hope that they will consider the arguments that we have already made and that we will continue to make, as well as the arguments presented by the parliamentary budget officer, so that they can really address the concerns of the middle class.