Does anyone think that cutting the GST was a good idea?

[OddSox]

If the GST cut had no effect, then I guess none of you would object to increasing the GST by 2%?

[ThatGuy]

If the GST cut had no effect, then I guess none of you would object to increasing the GST by 2%?

I wouldn't.

[Renegade]

My idea is that the cut did nothing more than erase some much needed stimulus.

Huh? Isn't a GST cut a stmulus to the economy? So how does the cut erase some much needed stimulus? It would seem that Harper got ahead of the curve in stimulating the economy.

[August1991]

Ok, I can live with that assessment of the poor and the income tax break. I guess it just comes back to my thinking that the poor aren't going to see much in terms of GST savings due to their low spending power. But, they could see somewhat of a bump in terms of keeping lower end jobs via the business benefit from credit fluidity and some form of financial barrier against the crisis we are in.

WTF?

...they could see somewhat of a bump in terms of keeping lower end jobs via the business benefit from credit fluidity and some form of financial barrier against the crisis we are in.

That phrase deserves to be saved for posterity as a wonderful example of pseudo-sophisticated mumbo-jumbo.

----

It has always been a mystery to me how otherwise intelligent people so easily believe that if the government takes money from and then gives it to someone else so that they can spend it, this is called a "stimulus package". If I just go and spend my money, that's somehow different.

Why does my money have to take such a circuitous route to acquire "stimulus package" status?

And please don't appeal to a Keynesian argument. That's not even what he intended.

[mjp]

the GST cut was a bad idea as it only helped rich people and those with good enough credit to get a new car.

1 million dollar house at 7% GST was 70k in GST taxes. at 5% it was 50k in GST taxes. that saved some rich person 20k.

Tell me this, how many of you will pay 20k in GST this year??

yes for 15k car there was savings of $300. However if you bought a fuel efficient car you did not pay most of those taxes.

Fact is the avg person would have benefited more by having a 3% tax cut on low and middle income taxes. and a 1.5% income tax cut on upper income tax brackets.

when people have more money initially in their pocket they will spend more. Also will have the money to pay their debts off.

[M.Dancer]

the GST cut was a bad idea as it only helped rich people and those with good enough credit to get a new car.

1 million dollar house at 7% GST was 70k in GST taxes. at 5% it was 50k in GST taxes. that saved some rich person 20k.

Tell me this, how many of you will pay 20k in GST this year??

yes for 15k car there was savings of $300. However if you bought a fuel efficient car you did not pay most of those taxes.

Fact is the avg person would have benefited more by having a 3% tax cut on low and middle income taxes. and a 1.5% income tax cut on upper income tax brackets.

when people have more money initially in their pocket they will spend more. Also will have the money to pay their debts off.

Nice contradicting yourself there.....and sure te avergae person might get more from a income tax cut....but for many canadians who already pay little to no tax the Gouge and Screw tax is just that....

Now I'm many more peole have a 500k home than a 1 million....and many will have saved 10k....

There are no good taxes, but some are very bad. Taxes that hurt the lowet income earners the most are the worst.

[mjp]

Nice contradicting yourself there.....

I'm not. This is what economists say as well.

[M.Dancer]

I'm not. This is what economists say as well.

They say "i'm not" a lot?

[Renegade]

the GST cut was a bad idea as it only helped rich people and those with good enough credit to get a new car.

1 million dollar house at 7% GST was 70k in GST taxes. at 5% it was 50k in GST taxes. that saved some rich person 20k.

It was "bad" based upon what criteria. Is your only criteria was a redistribution of income from rich to poor? In the end if more people are buying $1 million houses because the barrier has been lowered is that a positive due to the jobs which have been created?

The interesting thing about the house-building industry is that much of the cost is labour, and it is labour which by necessity must be locally employed.