Game On to Sell Tax Shift in Alberta
Stephane Dion has made the most important political play of his tenure as Liberal Leader by introducing a Carbon Tax proposal. He has called it the Liberal Green Shift.
Coming on the heels of the Green Party of Canada’s plan (you can read the document here) the Liberal plan is the greatest shift in Liberal thinking in over 25 years.
The ’shift’ that happens is a shift from taxation on income to a tax on carbon fuels; the stuff that dirties the air, warms the planet and generally toxifies our environment.
This proposal touches on a number of different areas: global warming, pollution, energy and income. Not only does it touch these issues, it also makes us reexamine our taxation strategy.
In recent years, taxation has been used to modify behavior. By increasing the taxation on cigarettes and alcohol, for example, the government discourages its use and reduces the damages caused by these products. If this is the rationale, how can you explain a tax on income?
Is making money bad for you? Is it bad for society? Have we unintentionally modified our behavior by deciding to tax income?
All these questions are fascinating and I hope people would love to discuss them on this site.
