Guest Professor: Dr. Ross Hickey - “What’s Good about
Taxes?”
150 people occupied the Schubert centre
to hear UBCO economics professor, Dr. Ross Hickey, present strategies for fair taxation.
“The very rich have been getting very
richer over the past 30 years”, he said. “At the same time, their tax rates
have dropped from 43% in 1981 to just 29% today.” Their share of income is at
pre-depression levels of the 1930s.
Incomes of the top 100 CEOs in Canada
increased 27% in one year from 2009 to 2010. Incomes of the average Canadian
worker rose a mere 1.1% in the same period. “That’s bad for equity and bad for
growth” Dr. Hickey stated.
“Failure to reverse this trend will lead
to greater crime, social unrest, & public insecurity. Furthermore, there is
no relation between our economic productivity and low tax rates”, he said. “An
unfair tax system is unproductive.”
But it’s not enough to target a few high
priced CEOs, Professor Hickey maintains. To spread the tax burden fairly,
Professor Hickey recommends broadening the tax base on consumer items. “This may
seem unpopular but it will capture more revenue from big spenders. However, it
will only work”, he warned, “if the increased burden on the poor is offset by
substantial increase in transfers to low income earners. At the present time,
government transfers & tax credits for things like home purchase and
renovations largely benefit high earners. The poor can’t buy into those”.
“The average total rate of all federal,
provincial & municipal taxes combined is 40% for those earning above
$30,000. For those earning below $30,000, it’s 80%. We know that income is
related to success in education, which is related to employment. Over taxing
the poor disables them from getting a good education; it leads to poor health,
poor social outcomes, and poor labour skills that cost society more in the long
run”, he said.
“Canada’s measure of inequality after
paying taxes is much worse than the UK and Sweden”, Dr. Hickey noted, “even
though it’s quite similar before taxes. Their tax system encourages equity. Coincidentally,
their productivity is higher and their measures of social wellbeing are higher.”
Dr. Hickey also recommends returning to
a more progressive tax system. “We must create more tax brackets with higher
tax rates for higher incomes. We don’t want to discourage people from working
but we do want to have a system that is fair and provides sufficient revenue
for education, health care, housing, day care & other social programs.”
Critics argue that higher taxes will encourage the rich to move away. While
that may happen in a few cases, Professor Hickey states that the rich are not
as mobile as critics suggest. “Besides, they also appreciate the good things
that good taxes provide”.
“Taxpayers must tell politicians they want
a fair tax system”, he said. “They must stop saying taxes are bad. Taxes are
the price of a productive, civil society. Taxpayers must insist on a fair
price”.
UBC Professor Dr. John Janmaat will be the
next GUEST PROFESSOR hosted by the Green Party. He will speak on the economic
& ecological costs of pipelines and how to extract sustainability from
finite resources.
Hear Professor Janmaat @ 7:00 pm Monday, April
2nd, at Vernon’s Schubert Centre 3505 30th Ave.
Contact:
Greig Crockett, 250-260-5877; crockett@okshuswapgreens.ca
.
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