Some of Harper’s more blatant policy contradictions

Harper’s HST totally contradicts Harper’s Home Renovation Tax Credit:

Harper’s Home Renovation Tax Credit of 15% on selected purchases during a 12 month period ending January 31, 2010 is intended to stimulate the economy or in Flaherty’s words: “These measures are important to sustaining Canada’s economic recovery....the Home Renovation Tax Credit is encouraging millions of Canadians to invest in the long-term value of their homes, and has increased the demand for labour, building materials and other goods and services—creating jobs and stimulating our economy. It is important that these measures be implemented quickly.” whereas Harper’s HST will tax EVERYTHING in Ontario in PERPETUITY at the rate of 13%, which can only mean that Harper’s HST is counter-stimulative, if it is argued that Harper’s Home Renovation Tax Credit is stimulative. One foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake pedal, courtesy of our totally contradictory PM, the Economist in training.

Harper’s HST totally contradicts Harper’s Income Trust Tax:

It is falsely argued by Stephen Harper that income trust are “bad” on the alleged premise that they shift tax burden from corporations to individuals (the so called tax leakage argument which is a falsehood), whereas Harper’s HST is “good” because it is specifically designed to shift tax burden from corporations to individuals. Complete hypocrisy, courtesy of our totally contradictory PM, the Economist in training.

Harper’s Tax Free Savings Account totally contradicts Harper’s non-acknowledgement of taxes paid by RRSPs:

Income trusts cause tax leakage ONLY when the government conveniently leaves out the taxes paid on the 38% of income trusts held in RRSPs using the argument that “today’s social programs can’t be funded with tomorrow’s tax dollars”, whereas two months later Harper introduces the Tax Free Savings Account, that will see no tax dollars ever made available to fund social programs, either today, tomorrow or ever, the TSFA is completely tax free. Courtesy of our totally contradictory PM.

Harper’s bailout of ABCP totally contradicts his wanton destruction of income trusts:

Harper’s income trust tax caused Canadian and foreign investors to lose $35 billion of their retirement savings because of a premeditated act of Stephen Harper that was based on his false argument of tax leakage. The income trust market was a $200 billion market dominated by average everyday investors, but apparently that was “okay”, whereas Harper thought it was essential that his government bail out the institutional and corporate investors who dominated the much smaller ABCP market, with the argument that doing so was essential to preserving Canada’s capital markets. ABCP was a product that was destined to fail from the outset, as it was nothing more than an elaborate cheque kiting scheme that attempted to turn fixed rate long term “assets” into floating rate short term “paper”. Bottom line: Harper bails out highly questionable investment schemes, while actively killing legitimate ones? This courtesy of our totally contradictory PM, the Economist in training.

Harper’s real record of hollowing out:

Harper hails the return of Tim Horton’s to Canada as some form of validation for his corporate tax cut policies, but fails to acknowledge that this corporate maneuver does not result in any change in the ownership of Tim Horton’s or the hiring of a single new employee, whereas Harper’s income trust tax was the event that precipitated a wholesale takeover of Canadians companies and the displacement of their Canadian investor/owners, because Harper’s income trust tax favoured foreign owners to Canadians owners, which explains why Abu Dhabi acquired Prime West Energy or why Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing acquired TranAlta Power Income Fund. Why was there no “photo op” as there was for the Tim Horton’s non event, when BCE’s prospective new owners, Providence Capital and Madison Dearborn of the US, insisted that BCE fire 2500 knowledge workers, before proceeding to turn Canada’s largest telecommunications company into a junk bond basket case. Perhaps people making donuts at Tim Horton’s are Harpers idea of Canada’s new knowledge workers? Courtesy of our totally contradictory PM.

This list of Harper’s blatant policy contradictions is by no means exhaustive, but represents those contradictions of Harper’s that I find most blatant and irksome. By all means, let me know about those policy contradictions that define Stephen Harper that most offend you.