Mulcair has a point on income taxes

Tom Mulcair’s position to not raise income taxes doesn’t seem to be very progressive. According to a poll, 83% of Canadians favor higher taxes on the wealthiest Canadians — the only group that has seen income gains over the past 30 years.

According to the CBC, the wealthiest 1% actually pays the lowest tax rate of any other group — including the lowest. Even free-market father Adam Smith favored progressive taxation.

But Mulcair has a point: Stephen Harper never cut income taxes; so on this particular ground (surrounded by scorched earth,) there is no damage to undo.

Bigger income tax burden under Harper

In fact, according to the Globe and Mail, the income tax burden has vastly increased under Harper:

In the wake of cuts to the GST and corporate income tax rates, personal income taxes are carrying a growing and outsized share of the load of paying for government. By 2018, personal income taxes will account for 50 per cent of total federal revenue – far and away the largest source of money for Ottawa.

Read my lips: no new taxes

Unfortunately, Justin Trudeau is enamored with all of Harper’s $44-billion/yr in boutique tax expenditures, tax-free tax havens and failed corporate tax cuts. He vows to keep each and everyone of Harper’s reckless tax cuts in place.

Even as a de facto red Tory, Trudeau doesn’t appear to put much progressive in progressive conservative.