Archive for February, 2010

You have probably started to receive your income tax receipts in the mail. If you’re like me, you aren’t looking forward to the time you will have to spend doing your taxes.
 
But what if you could do your income tax in 10 minutes on a form the size of a large postcard and pay lower tax rates at the same time?
 
The idea is called a flat tax. It involves the elimination of all tax deductions in exchange for lower tax rates. Now, I love and use every tax deduction that I can find. But I would give up all my deductions in exchange for lower taxes.
 
According to a report on the benefits of a flat tax by the Fraser Institute called The Impact and Cost of Taxation in Canada: The Case for Flat Tax Reform, Canadians spend up to $30 billion a year in order to complete their tax returns, including the cost of collecting receipts and preparing returns.
 
The report states that Canadians would really benefit from a more efficient and taxpayer friendly tax system.
 
Countries that have reformed their tax systems by implementing a flat tax have experienced “stronger economic growth, higher overall tax receipts, and a generally more robust economy,” according to the Fraser Institute.
 
Nations and jurisdictions that have adopted flat-tax systems “with extraordinary success” include: Jersey (1940), Hong Kong (1947) and the Czech Republic (2008).
 
I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.

The United States is a more socialistic country than Canada.  Surprised? According to the Heritage Foundation’s annual Economic Freedom Index, Canada is an economically freer nation than the United States.  Canada ranks as the 7th freest economy in the world, ahead of the United States.  Maybe this is why the American economy is being outperformed by ours.
 
What I find interesting about the ten freest economies in the world is that all the countries on the list have one of two qualities: either the nation is one of the world’s richest (Switzerland and Denmark) or the economy has grown dramatically in the past couple of decades (Chile and Ireland).

This clearly demonstrates that freedom brings prosperity.  Canada can grow more prosperous, but to do that we need to grow freer and keep the government’s interference in the economy to a minimum.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.

A few days ago, Liberal MP Gerard Kennedy was musing about raising the GST.  However, it is not just the Liberal MPs who are vouching for this raise in taxes.   Bank economists, journalists, representatives of large business associations, and other supposedly neutral commentators have been advocating for a hike in the GST, which is – according to them – good for the economy.

What these professionals generally do not tell you is that at the same time they are also advocating for subsidies and/or tax cuts for themselves.  And these subsidies or tax cuts would be paid for by a hike in the GST.

Your Conservative government lowered the GST because it is a tax that affects all Canadians, and it was the broadest tax cut that we could find.

So remember, the next time a bank economist comments that a hike in the GST is necessary, he or she is also quietly asking for a tax cut for their bank.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.

Over the last two years, my office has dealt with an increasing number of immigration cases and visitor visa applications.  Having dealt with these cases, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is one policy change that would help immigrants and visitors who are coming to Canada.

We need to make deportations quicker and easier.

Canadian immigration procedures are long and detailed. The people we turn away may very well be good for Canada, but we can’t afford to take chances, not with a system that makes it difficult and expensive to deport immigrants that violate our rules.  A single mistake in an immigration case can take years to fix and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Making deportations quicker and easier would allow our immigration system to process applicants faster. Consequently, we could take a few more chances on borderline cases, and this would benefit all involved.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.