Margaret Thatcher once
said “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” The Trudeau government, as it unveiled its ninth federal budget on Tuesday, seemed intent on testing the truth of that theory, behaving as if there were endless pockets to pilfer.
As expected, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s
Tuesday afternoon budget address spelled bad news for some of Canada’s most productive and entrepreneurial citizens, outlining forthcoming tax hikes on corporations and high-income Canadians — notably ratcheting up taxes on capital gains accrued from investment assets like secondary residences.
The 416-page budget document tabled by Freeland on Tuesday was unambiguous about the reasoning behind these redistributive measures, reading: “To grow the middle class and invest in younger Canadians — while keeping their taxes lower — new generational investments in Budget 2024 will be supported by contributions from the wealthiest Canadians.”
What will the wealthiest of Canadians do? Those with liquid assets, or assets to liquidize?
The hours leading up to the 4PM ET budget announcement were filled with a palpable sense of foreboding, with
news breaking on Tuesday morning that tax hikes were coming for better-off Canadians and job creators. This, despite Freeland fielding a slew of last-minute appeals from economists and members of the business community to pivot to a more pro-growth direction.
Even before becoming prime minister, Trudeau exhibited a total nonchalance toward debt that could only have come from someone who’s never in his life had to worry about money.
“The commitment needs to be a commitment to grow the economy and the budget will balance itself,” Trudeau famously told CPAC’s Peter Van Dusen during his response to the Harper government’s 2014 budget — the last balanced federal budget on the books.
Justin Trudeau would sweep into power the next year on a platform of running
three consecutive budget deficits, assuring Canadians that
historically low interest rates would shield them from the consequences of his spendthrift ways. Now was the time, Trudeau insisted, for the federal government to spend lavishly on
big-ticket infrastructure projects and other worthwhile pursuits.
Nine years and nine consecutive budget deficits later, Trudeau has little to show for the orgy of spending. The promised infrastructure upgrades never really materialized — heck, the trains aren’t even
running on-time in the federal government’s own backyard of Ottawa. Those historically low interest rates, meanwhile, have done a
vicious U-turn, forcing the federal government to turn hat-in-hand to Canada’s entrepreneurs and job creators.
Canada's budget 2024: It won't be long before they raise taxes on everyone to fund their agenda
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….’cuz those provinces managed to do that in the last 120 years or so.
I’m in Southern Saskatchewan. Chopping down a tree might be punishable more so than murder down here.
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