Tax cuts help

By Colin MayesJul 21 2006 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
Almost every day I have organizations, local governments, and interest groups that have need of funding from the federal government. All the requests are sincere and worthy of consideration, but the money only comes from one place the taxpayer, and it is limited. What is a reasonable level of taxation and what is the level of serves that government needs to provide? Today, local governments balance their budgets by law. The province of B.C., as have most provinces, has balanced its budget, and the federal government for a number of years has balanced its budget and even had large surpluses. The problem with this good news is the taxpayers that have provided the money to balance those government budgets can't balance their family budgets. Personal debt is at record levels. Our government has recognized this in balance and have brought down a federal budget to help families to keep their head above water. Lowering the GST helps everyone by making after tax money go further. The Child Care Allowance Plan will give families $100 per month per child under six to help families with daycare costs or just meet household expenses. Our government has also increased deductions for seniors, trades people and students to help their dollars go further. In total, the finance minister cut $20 billion in taxes over the next two years. No, we are not cutting essential government services to achieve lower taxes. We are eliminating waste, cutting programs that have become obsolete, and making government smaller and more efficient. The economy is on a positive cycle, more jobs-more taxpayers, more spending-more tax revenue, more investment-stronger economy. This is will help to meet the funding needs for healthcare, education, and essential infrastructure. Hopefully all these factors will help families meet their needs within their budgets.