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Quebec Proposes Carbon Tax


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This is the start of the election campaign. Charest is presenting this as an environemental tax that the large oil companies will pay. IOW, people get to protect the environment at someone else's expense.

Charest is also saying that he is getting ready for the "negociations" with Ottawa about equalization payments.

I have always preferred the PQ's honesty to the Liberals' demagoguery.

I happen to think Charest will get re-elected next year despite what the polls are saying now. For 30 years, Quebecers have given two mandates to the government. Harper will make it possible for the Liberals to save a few seats outside of Montreal and Boisclair's referendum promise won't help the PQ.

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So Quebec wants to introduce a carbon tax.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

Seems to me that this is just a stealth tax hike that is politically palatable. I am surprised that Quebequers would put up with it given how high their taxes already are.

And I am surprised people still place the welfare of their wallet over the welfare of their planet. People need to make a choice - the environment or the economy. It's that simple. Of course, many believe those who would sacrifice some moeny for the environment are scary, bleeding heart liberals - maybe, but at least those people know how to see past next week or next tax season.

Kudos to Quebec, we should all follow suit.

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I have always preferred the PQ's honesty to the Liberals' demagoguery.
I would not want to suggest the Quebec Liberals are perfect but 'honesty' and 'non-demagogic' are not adjectives I would use to describe the PQ - at least when it comes to issues related to sovereignty.

In any case, I will be curious how Quebequers will react once they realize that it is just another tax that they will have to pay.

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I have always preferred the PQ's honesty to the Liberals' demagoguery.
I would not want to suggest the Quebec Liberals are perfect but 'honesty' and 'non-demagogic' are not adjectives I would use to describe the PQ - at least when it comes to issues related to sovereignty.

In any case, I will be curious how Quebequers will react once they realize that it is just another tax that they will have to pay.

Just like those that believe in corporate taxes, they are naive and don't understand that corporations don't pay them. We consumers pay them.

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[so Quebec wants to introduce a carbon tax.]

To hold the Quebec hostage to the most populous state in the U.S. with it's rigid pollution standards is absolute nonsense.

This is clearly political to show the feds 'look Quebec is doing it', how come Mr. Harper can't lead like Mr. Charest. This is cut throat politics and shows the immaturity of Mr. Charest to work against the Prime Minister and what he had to say about implementing Kyoto.

The only problem with all of this is the big oil companies won't play ball which could result in a backlash against Mr. Charest from Quebecers who don't want to pay higher energy taxes.

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At this point, i agree with those taxes, i prefer to taxe consumers than to taxes salary. Those kind of politics will conditionate and educate the consumers. However, politician must also deal with the side effect of those politics.

Sure, keep taxing the poor with regressive taxes. Even me, the flat-tax supporting ultra-fiscal-conservative see's the point behind progressive taxation systems. Any consumption tax hurts poor and middle class people far more than the rich.

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I partially disagree with that,

First the government has no choice to tax the population one way or another, taxes will violate our freedom anyway so why not give a taxe break to citizens that have good habits wich help makes life easyer for the goverment. Don't give taxe cut to the poor, help them with social program if needed and teach them how to suceed.

Second, im also a flat tax supporter, i don't really beleive in progressive taxation. If the government wants to help the poor, he should teach them how to catch a fish instead of feeding them and keeping them from progressing.

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Second, im also a flat tax supporter, i don't really beleive in progressive taxation. If the government wants to help the poor, he should teach them how to catch a fish instead of feeding them and keeping them from progressing.
Progressive taxes ensure that the 'burden' of taxes are distributed fairly across the population. A typical person who makes 20K a year needs to use almost all of that income to pay for necessities like food, shelter and cost of commuting so paying '20%' tax or $4000 would be a very heavy burden for that person to bear. A typical person who makes 100K/year has more than enough to cover the necessities of life, as a result, paying 20% or 20K/year in taxes is not a very heavy burden.
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Progressive taxes ensure that the 'burden' of taxes are distributed fairly across the population. A typical person who makes 20K a year needs to use almost all of that income to pay for necessities like food, shelter and cost of commuting so paying '20%' tax or $4000 would be a very heavy burden for that person to bear. A typical person who makes 100K/year has more than enough to cover the necessities of life, as a result, paying 20% or 20K/year in taxes is not a very heavy burden.
Your reasoning of "fairness" seems strange, and somehow seems connected to an invented description of "necessities".

Would you say the same if the person earning 20,000 was a single guy living rent-free, food-free in his mom's basement but the person earning 100,000 was a father of five whose wife stayed at home?

Riverview, I don't think fairness is the motivator of our tax system. Expediency is a better word.

First the government has no choice to tax the population one way or another, taxes will violate our freedom anyway so why not give a taxe break to citizens that have good habits wich help makes life easyer for the goverment.
There's a lot of good sense in that. I hope that in the future, governments raise their revenue entirely from environmental rents and taxes of various sorts. My fear in some ways is that this would be too successful, and give governments too much.

Charest has said that the revenues of this carbon tax will go into a special environmental fund for subsidizing reducations in carbon dioxide emissions. I think the money should go into general revenues and other taxes reduced by a similar amount.

Something else. I cannot believe that Harper and Charest did not talk about this policy before. IOW, it appears that Harper is going to let the provincial governments implement policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This makes a lot of sense.

I think a constituency exists to support so-called green taxes.

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So Quebec wants to introduce a carbon tax.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

Seems to me that this is just a stealth tax hike that is politically palatable. I am surprised that Quebequers would put up with it given how high their taxes already are.

Interesting Liberal candidate Ignatieff refers to the same tax only federally, and the entire federal Liberal party gasped thinking he has antagonized the West.

Its easy for Quebec to tax oil, they don't produce oil. Of course to understand Quebec politics is to understand two things;

1-their solution to everything is another tax

2-there solution to everything is another handout from Ottawa.

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