Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer promises tax cut at campaign stop in Surrey
Credit to Author: Cheryl Chan| Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 00:45:07 +0000
In the living room of a South Surrey family, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer unveiled an income-tax cut he said would save taxpayers hundreds of dollars a year.
Scheer said his government will cut the tax rate on the lowest federal income bracket — which applies to annual income up to $47,630 — from 15 per cent to 13.75 per cent over four years, one of a series of cuts he promised Sunday in an appeal to voters’ wallets.
“It means every Canadian taxpayer will see their income tax go down, and those in the lowest tax bracket will see the biggest proportional benefit of all,” he said.
The “universal tax cut” will translate to over $440 savings in a year for an individual earner and about $850 for a two-income family with average salaries. It will be phased in over four years, starting with a reduction to 14.5 per cent in 2021, 14 per cent by 2022 and 13.75 by 2023.
Scheer made the announcement in the White Rock home of Gretchen and Reed, who asked their last names not be used. Reed, who works in banking, and Gretchen, who was a stay-at-home mom, sat across from Scheer in the living room, the coffee table a carefully-crafted tableau displaying mugs of coffee, a plate of cookies, and printouts of tax forms.
“I wish I could say life has gotten easier for Canada’s middle class but it has not,” said Scheer. “People are working harder than ever, but many are barely getting by or even falling further behind. They’re definitely not getting ahead.”
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer on the federal election campaign trail with home owners Reed and Gretchen in White Rock, BC., September 15, 2019.
If elected, the Tory leader promised to eliminate GST and HST from home heating and energy costs, make maternity benefits tax-free, and cancel the federal carbon tax, which has taken affect in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick. The tax does not apply in British Columbia and other provinces that already have similar carbon pollution taxes.
Scheer also criticized Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for cutting tax credits the former Conservative government introduced to offset the costs of putting children in sports or arts classes, buying textbooks and using transit passes.
The Liberals eliminated those credits when they created the Canada Child Benefit in the 2016 budget, which rolled together a litany of previous benefits to help families with the costs of raising their children, and increased the total payout most people receive. Scheer has said he intends to keep that benefit in place as well. He also said he will restore the transit tax credit, a 15 per cent credit on eligible transit passes.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer pegged the cost of the universal tax cut at $6 billion a year once fully implemented.
Scheer said he remains “absolutely committed” to balancing the federal budget over five years, while increasing funding for health care and education by at least three per cent a year.
“It’s important to remember that massive deficits threaten those social programs,” said Scheer.
Trudeau ran in 2015 on a promise to run budget deficits to invest in Canadians’ needs but to get back to balance by 2019. However, the most recent budget projected the 2019-20 year will have a $19.8-billion deficit.
The fact the Scheer chose Surrey as his first campaign stop in B.C. doesn’t come as a surprise, said Hamish Telford, a political-science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley.
“He’s obviously going to ridings first where he hopes he can flip them,” he said. “This is an area where the Conservatives have had success in the past, and that’s the kind of place they have to win back if they hope to win government.”
In the 2015 elections, the Conservatives won just one of the five seats in Surrey.
The Liberals wrestled Fleetwood-Port Kells from Conservative incumbent Nina Grewal, won the newly-created riding of Cloverdale-Langley City, and turned two other NDP ridings red.
Dianne Watts, the only Conservative candidate elected in Surrey, stepped down in 2017 to run for the leadership of the B.C. Liberals. Gordie Hogg then won South Surrey-White Rock for the Liberals in a byelection.
Telford said the Conservatives certainly have their pick of ridings to target, given a handful of ridings, particularly north of the Fraser River, which traditionally swung Conservatives got caught up in the Liberal tide in 2015.
He also noted that Trudeau is doing the opposite, going into NDP ridings hoping to flip them Liberal. Trudeau launched his campaign last week at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver-Kingsway, a riding held by incumbent NDP MP Don Davies.
Scheer was also expected to make campaign stops in Comox and Parksville on Vancouver Island to target NDP-held ridings.
— with files from Canadian Press