Mr. Speaker, I begin my speech today by referring to page 9 of the Liberal Party of Canada election platform and will quote directly from that document: “The two tax changes will be revenue neutral to the federal government.” It does not say that these tax changes might be revenue neutral to the federal government or that they hope these tax changes will be revenue neutral to the federal government. The Liberals were very clear that these tax changes will be revenue neutral to the federal government.
Of course, on page 6 of the same document, Liberals told us that this was all part of a “fully costed” platform. In fact, throughout the election, we heard how Liberal experts had fully costed the platform. However, we now know that the so-called Liberal experts got it wrong. In fact, they got it very wrong.
The public budget office has shown us the real cost of these Liberal tax changes. These are not revenue neutral at all. The real cost is $8.9 billion by the 2020-21 fiscal year. In other words, every single Liberal member of this House was elected under questionable pretenses.
Where are those Liberal experts today? I have yet to hear the Prime Minister apologize on behalf of these experts, or hold them accountable for misleading Canadians. The Liberals, as we know, say these tax changes will help the middle class. In fact, if we search Hansard, as well as online search engines, we would see hundreds of references by the Prime Minister about the middle class.
Yet, here is an interesting observation. On dozens of occasions in this place and in the media, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have been repeatedly asked how they define the middle class. To my amazement, I have yet to find an answer. They consistently refuse to provide a definition.
Let us look at these tax changes for an idea on who the Liberals think are the middle class. Are they citizens who are earning $45,000 a year? According to the Liberals, these are not middle-class Canadians because there is no income tax cut for them in these changes.
In essence, the Liberal tax changes apply to the tax bracket for incomes just over $45,000, and up to $90,563. However, wait, there is more. For those who earn over $90,000, they will also pay less tax on this portion of their income. For those earning up to $199,000—and I will come back to why I reference $199,000 in a moment—they will benefit from this tax cut. In other words, someone earning $199,000 per year benefits from these Liberals income tax changes, while someone earning $45,000 a year does not.
I challenge any member of this House to ask your constituents who they think is part of the middle class. Is it someone earning $45,0000 a year who does not benefit from these Liberal tax changes, or someone earning $199,000 per year who does? It is no wonder that our Prime Minister and Minister of Finance refuse to define the middle class. Only the Liberals would think that someone earning $199,000 is middle class and someone earning $45,000 is not.
The other interesting part is that the Liberals, in spite of the shoddy revenue-neutral math, tell us that these tax changes are there to help stimulate the economy. However, part of these tax changes are that the Prime Minister has created his own new top income tax rate. Those earning $200,000 or more will be penalized with a new 33% tax rate. In other words, we have a tax cut intended to help stimulate the economy, yet those who are most financially able to stimulate the economy are being penalized not to do so.
I have no doubt that the same Liberal experts who bungled the math on these tax changes being revenue neutral likely came up with this misguided policy as well. With this Liberal tax hike, combined with provincial income taxes, some provinces will now be paying a combined rate of taxation that exceeds 50%.
I know that the Liberals think, who cares, that these people are wealthy. However, in talking to regions desperately trying to recruit much-needed new doctors, particularly rural areas in my riding, when doctors hear about a total tax rate of over 50%, they say “Thanks, but no thanks”.
What is also interesting is that Bill C-2 proposes to roll back the maximum TFSA contribution implemented by the former government. I went through Hansard and read the Prime Minister's comments to try to determine why he hates the idea of Canadians saving money.
I found an interesting reference from the Prime Minister. He believes that having a tax-free savings account will only benefit the rich and will be paid for by the next generation of Canadians. I find this fascinating. Here we have a Prime Minister who is saddling the next generation of Canadians with billions of dollars in new debt, and he is worried about people having too much money in a savings account. Only in Liberal land does this make sense.
Let us not forget that all tax-free savings account contributions are made with net after-tax dollars. In other words, they are from the net income after tax has been paid. Let us also not forget that although people's investment income may not be taxable within a tax-free savings account, which is the entire point of having one, eventually that money will be withdrawn. In fact, people already withdraw from the TFSA for vehicle purchases, home renovations, and other big-ticket items that are common reasons for withdrawal.
Let us not overlook that when people spend that money here in Canada, not only do they support our local economies, but the money is also taxed, by GST, HST in some places, provincial sales tax. It is bizarre when the Liberals say that they are cutting taxes for some Canadians to help stimulate the economy, yet they discourage the idea of saving money.
Yesterday, I read an interesting column in a report by Vancity Credit Union. It talked about the expectations of millennials to inherit funds from the bank of mom and dad. The problem is that in many cases the expectations exceed what the bank of mom and dad is planning on delivering. That is why I submit that cutting back the tax-free savings account and sending the message that saving after-tax dollars is a bad idea is so misguided.
That is why I am here today opposing Bill C-2. So-called Liberal experts have the map badly wrong and have misled Canadians in the process. These same so-called experts further came up with policies that will only further set Canada behind, while adding billions in increased debt. It is not increased debt because we are in a recession, but rather debt because we are in a period of slow growth. That does not make sense.
The Liberals often like to say that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. However, if someone is a Canadian making $45,000 a year, there is no tax cut. If a Canadian is making $199,000 a year, they are apparently the middle class and do get a tax cut. If someone is a Canadian making $200,000 a year or more, they are further financially penalized. However, I suppose the fact that all future Canadians, regardless of income, will be left paying billions of dollars in new debt from these Liberal tax changes is the great equalizer.
I oppose these changes, because I believe that as Canadians we deserve better.