A Yield of 6 Billion Annually for a 1 % Transit Tax on Banks, Corporations and Unions, compared to 1.3 Billion for a 1% Sales Tax!

For the past 35 years Toronto politicians along with federal and provincial MP and MPP’s representing their political parties throughout the GTHA have not been able to come up with a meaningful and lasting funding arrangement for effective public transit.

For the media and special interest groups to suggest that Toronto’s property taxpayers on their own could, is totally unrealistic and a self-serving political agenda by a few career politicians and businesses who themselves cannot get their hands out of the public trough.

Asking Torontonians to suck-up yet another little new sales tax increase of 1%, that over the years would quickly become 5% or more, would not come close to the annual BILLIONS of dollars needed to fund any new subways, let alone LRT’s or the current infrastructure requirements for existing operations and never-ending fare and salary increases of the TTC, is scandalous. 

My proposed 1% Transit Tax on Banks, Unions, and Corporations Operating in Canada would generate $ 6 Billion annually for existing public transit in Canadian cities, including Toronto. 

Compared to the 1% Sales Tax on citizen being proposed by special interest groups and businesses that would yield $1.3 Billion yearly, road tolls of $ 1.5 Billion or parking levies for $1 Billion annually according to media reports.

This once again proposed Toronto sales tax, by special interest groups and businesses, for a 1% additional tax on the backs already overburden taxpayers would not at all come close to the annual funds currently needed just for the current infrastructure operations and maintenance requirements of the existing operations of the TTC, let alone any new subways, LRT’s and new and improved roads and highways. 

A Transit Tax of 1% on Banks, Unions and Corporations would Generate 100% more funding for public transit than a 1% Sales tax on citizens. 

Elected City officials, like councillor Adam Vaughan, who preach the need for more taxing power in order for the council to somehow be more responsible and grow the city is hogwash.

Toronto’s transit and overall fiscal crisis is the cause of chronic out of control spending habits and non-prudent councillors continued dereliction of duty on behalf of residents. It was not because of any perceived lack of or declining city revenues.

Prior to this city's new current administration, spending increased by 60% while inflation rose only by 23% over the same ten year period.

It has been obvious and the facts back it up that council has concerned itself over the years, not with transit matters or due diligence for the overall city fiscal responsibilities but rather with attempts at controlling the lives and habits of Torontonians.

With some 200,000 plus by-laws, regulations down to the level of what we eat, drink, French fries, no salt or shark fins or tails aimed at reducing and controlling personal choices and freedoms of individuals, corporations and union members alike.

And all of course for the collective good as decided by them and on the basis that some citizens lacked “self-control” and must not be allowed personal choices and freedoms of rugged individualism.     

History repeats itself and has shown us that arbitrary actions by elected councillors and governments that do not treat all taxpayers equally before the law are arrogant enough to take away anything from citizens, including fundamental individual democratic rights of freedoms, personal bank accounts, private or corporate property and businesses or everything you have, for what they might decide is the common good for all.

Councillor Vaughan’s further comment about development charges within city wards being solely for the benefit of local needs, as perceived by local councillors and not for distribution across the entire city to address the needs of Toronto as one city is narrow-minded at best.

The corporation of the City of Toronto does not need property tax increase over the rate of inflation and definitely not any new sales tax, road tolls, new development taxes etc.

However what is urgently required are these three following items:

1.   Councils inability and unwillingness to implement meaningful economic reforms, prudence and allocation of existing taxes involving pay as we go financing, zero-based budgeting, spending reductions and program eliminations starting with councillors salaries by $30,000 per year and elimination of existing one-year golden severance package of salary and benefits, go after tax evaders by corporations and citizens, reduction of staff positions and numbers and a reduced number of councillors in line with provincial and federal riding’s.

2.   A demand from the federal and provincial governments for a minimum of 25% of existing fuel, gas and diesel taxes for the GTHA public transit system.

3.   A 1% Corporate citizen transit tax (1% federal and 1% provincial) on gross revenues of all Canadian, federal, provincial, territorial and foreign corporations, Unions and Union federations registered and or carrying on business in Canada.(CUTT)

This is not the era of Queen Victoria and it’s now time that all our Canadian companies and unions doing business in Canada honestly and transparently become good corporate and union citizens organizations by willing to suck-up a small tax increase dedicated to public transit across Canada.

To this end it is also time that all GTH area elected provincial and federal members flexed their muscle and stood up on behalf of their residents and not their respective political parties and passed such a 1% Corporate and Union transit tax.

They as a group regardless of political parties represent 38% of the entire population of Canada and 47% of Ontario’s population in the GTHA.

As elected representatives of the people this group should be a combined voice of one, in supporting and pushing for a

meaningful and lasting funding proposal of existing public transit within Canadian cities through a 1% transit tax on both Corporations and Unions doing business in Canada.

1% transit tax levied on both Corporations and Unions as a meaningful and lasting funding proposal for existing public transit within Canadian cities by our federal and provincial governments.  

Voters across Toronto, the GTHA, Ontario and the rest of Canada have swallowed enough tax increases from all three levels of government.

 

It is now bailout time, for public transit, by our banks, financial institutions, media corporations, and unions, federations like (OFL, CLC, CEP, OPSEU, OSSTF etc) the likes of the Toronto Star and other incorporated entities to put up and pay up through a 1% transit tax levied on corporations (private and public) and union organizations including all union federations. 

Elected political party representatives at all three levels of government, for the most part, receive their financial backing from Corporations, Unions and Special Interest Groups. It's time they openly commenced being the representative of the public who voted them into office.  

Finally the time for a 1% public transit bailout tax on Corporations and Unions is now as it has been long overdue!

Corporate and union transit tax

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Friday_AM_-_Tepke_FTA_SGR_Roundtable.pdf

Contact your Provincial MPP @ http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do

Contact your Federal MP @ http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?Language=E&TimePeriod=Current

Contact your Toronto city councillor  @ http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

INFO Up Date

TABLE 2.12 Summary of Medium-Term Outlook ($ Billions)
Revenue	Interim 2011–12	Plan 2012–13	Outlook
			2013–14	2014–15
Taxation Revenue	75.2	78.8	81.1	84.7
Personal Income Tax	24.2	25.8	27.2	28.7
Sales Tax	20.9	21.1	22.1	23.3
Corporations Tax	9.4	10.8	10.2	10.5
Ontario Health Premium	2.9	3.1	3.3	3.4
Education Property Tax	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7
All Other Taxes	12.2	12.4	12.6	13.1
Government of Canada	21.4	21.8	23.0	23.5
Income from Government Business Enterprises	4.4	4.1	4.4	5.3
Other Non-Tax Revenue	8.3	7.6	7.6	7.5
Total Revenue	109.3	112.2	116.1	121.

Proposed revenue possibilities are:

Revenue source	Nominal rate	GTHA annual revenue
Personal income tax increase	1%	$1.4 billion
Sales tax	1%	$1.3 billion
Property tax	1%	$90 million
Payroll tax	1%	$500 million
Highway tolls	10 cents/KM	$1.5 billion
Fuel tax	10 cents	$500 million
Vehicle tax	$100	$300 million
Parking levy	$365 per space	$1.08 billion
Land transfer tax	1%	$600 million
Development charges	$5,000 per unit	$200 million

PS. As you can see NO mention or thought of a 1% transit tax on banks, unions or corporation? 

Sources:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/13/a-home-grown-solution-to-torontos-transit-funding-woes/

http://www.gettorontomoving.ca/Home_Page.php
http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=189013

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/taxseason/story/2012/04/12/f-taxseason-by-the-numbers.html

One Transit Authority for the Greater Toronto, Hamilton Area is a Start in the Right Direction.

However without a meaningful annual financial and political commitment of  a minimum 25% from all existing fuel taxes for gas, diesel, oil, from the province and federal government's to this one GTHA area transit area system it shall never succeed.

Also qualified professionals not career politicians from within the worlds private mass transportation industry must be at the helm of a new Metrolinx for GTHA.

The Greater Toronto, Hamilton area (GTHA) presently represents over 47% of Ontario’s overall population and Ontario represents 38% of the entire population of Canada.  

Therefore our political parties of all stripes best understand that this area GTHA and its citizens demand and requires at a minimum 18% of all existing federal and provincial fuel taxes (gas, diesel etc.)  for the GTHA public transit system and roadways.

Further, the board of this the new one transit authority for a GTHA Metrolinx operated public transit authority, systems and operations of the existing Go, TTC, Halton, Peel, York, Durham and Hamilton Street Railway should be comprised as follows:

A new 11 member Board of Directors for this proposed one transit authority would replace the existing board of Metrolinx.

ONE elected representative from each region i.e. Halton, Peel, York, Durham, Hamilton for a total number of 5 and with TWO elected representatives from Toronto and the federal and provincial governments for a total of 6.

As such this new amalgamated transit authority of Metrolinx GTHA would have elected representatives from the main financial partners the provincial and federal governments’.

                                                                              

GTHA Metrolinx would be directly responsible for all public transportation operations, systems, financing and be under the control of the above-elected board members and the direction of both a CEO and COO who must have professional transportation qualifications from within the world’s private transportation industry who would be hired separately.

 

The citizen residents of Ontario and Canada all realize that nothing is Free especially when proposed by politicians seeking election or re-election.

And the commuters within the GTHA are very cognizant of the fact that Ontario represents over 38% of Canadian taxpayers and voters.

A 1 % New Sales Tax is a Non Solution that Leaves a 99 % Transit Funding Shortfall.

A 1 % ( one)sales tax increase would barley accomplish enough to pay for the administration of such a new Toronto sales tax and most likely a tax that would increase on annually until this new Transit Toronto Sales Tax reached 5 % or 8 %  on top of the existing harmonized GST of 13 %!

Thus realistically there is the possibility that not only Torontonians but all Ontario residents, tourists and a business could be paying 20% or more in a few short years for a combined new Toronto Transit Sales Tax and existing harmonized GST.

We do not need new taxes, rather better management of existing revenues and expenditures by our politicians and non-elected technocrats and bureaucrats.  

What is urgently required is a guaranteed lasting and meaningful funding commitment to Toronto Transit, the largest and most used public city transit system in Canada, from both the federal and provincial governments that annually transfers 25% (twenty five percent) from existing fuel taxes presently collected by these two levels of governments on GAS, DIESEL, and OIL and amend the current Gas Tax Fund Agreement between the provincial and federal governments.   

    NO NEW

Info Up Date

TABLE 2.12 Summary of Medium-Term Outlook ($ Billions)
Revenue	Interim 2011–12	Plan 2012–13	Outlook
			2013–14	2014–15
Taxation Revenue	75.2	78.8	81.1	84.7
Personal Income Tax	24.2	25.8	27.2	28.7
Sales Tax	20.9	21.1	22.1	23.3
Corporations Tax	9.4	10.8	10.2	10.5
Ontario Health Premium	2.9	3.1	3.3	3.4
Education Property Tax	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7
All Other Taxes	12.2	12.4	12.6	13.1
Government of Canada	21.4	21.8	23.0	23.5
Income from Government Business Enterprises	4.4	4.1	4.4	5.3
Other Non-Tax Revenue	8.3	7.6	7.6	7.5
Total Revenue	109.3	112.2	116.1	121.

Proposed revenue possibilities are:

Revenue source	Nominal rate	GTHA annual revenue
Personal income tax increase	1%	$1.4 billion
Sales tax	1%	$1.3 billion
Property tax	1%	$90 million
Payroll tax	1%	$500 million
Highway tolls	10 cents/KM	$1.5 billion
Fuel tax	10 cents	$500 million
Vehicle tax	$100	$300 million
Parking levy	$365 per space	$1.08 billion
Land transfer tax	1%	$600 million
Development charges	$5,000 per unit	$200 million

PS. As you can see NO mention or thought of a 1% transit tax on banks, unions or corporation? 

Source:

http://taxpayer.com/sites/default/files/GTHD%20Report%202012.pdf

http://www.amo.on.ca/WCM/AMO/AMO_Content/Gas_Tax/Gas_Tax_Funds.aspx

http://stephenrees.wordpress.com/tag/gas-tax/






    

Political Parties an Asset or a Ruse to Democracy and Elections?

Less than one ( 1%) of a province's or federal election eligible voters is a member of one of the three major political parties.

Having less than 1% of eligible voters or of the population, just who, do these Political Parties truly and honestly represent?

Keep in mind that the primary goal, of all political parties, is to gain power for the party NOT the voter or the electorate who supports and elects the candidates running under a political party banner, be it NDP, Liberal or Conservative!

As it presently stands these power-hungry political members of a political party who represent less than 1% of eligible voters remain under a self-serving belief for power and present an illusion of power that they should never be entitled to them as such political party power Does Not represent a true and transparent democracy in any form when such a few numbers of eligible voters are participating in political parties as members.

Voter apathy and lack of civic duty and responsibility for voting and participating in provincial or federal elections have allowed these various political parties to assert their personal political ideology beliefs, that their political party knows what is the collective best for the majority of the electorate when it comes to setting not only their respective political party’s agenda but one for the 99% of citizens within the entire Country or a Province!

                                                                                      The  99% of voters who are not members of a political party should, at the very least immediately start asking and investigating who these politicians would be elite individuals, special interest groups and unions are and who continually seek political power for their respective political party members at the direct expense of the 99% of voters.

For example, Ontario has roughly 10.7 million eligible voters. 

Yet the liberal party of Ontario has fewer than 20,000 members which represents less than 1% of the eligible voters!

The NDP has an unconfirmed and estimated Ontario membership of fewer than 15,000 members!

Ontario Conservative party membership consists of approximately 30,000 members which also translates to less than 1% of eligible voters.

When compared to the total population of Ontario, do these members of any political party honestly represent a realistic percentage of the population when in honesty they seek elected office not for the voters but rather the political power of and for their respective political party?

Why is there no legislative jurisdiction over political parties under Canadian or Ontario privacy laws? Should there be?

Why are such party membership lists only available to MPPs and NOT the public, when such lists are gathered to accommodate democracy at election time so that those seeking elected office can openly solicit contributions, recruit members or votes and nothing more?

Why is it that in Canada the province of British Columbia is the only province that has legislation covering political parties under a provincial personal information protection Act? 

Are political parties just a ruse and deterrent to democracy and realistically or transparently not a true asset to democracy because in reality, all they do is a self-promoting of power for the political party and not the people?   

Up date http://ca.news.yahoo.com/cyprus-parliament-vote-savings-levy-000315775--business.html

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/11/23/graphic-canadas-national-debt/

Up Date http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/03/13/how_to_curb_bureaucratic_empirebuilding_goar.html

@ http://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2012/03/ontarios-fiscal-history-it-is-not.html

Source

http://www.elections.on.ca/en-CA/CandidatesAndParties/PoliticalParties/

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1292687--ontario-liberal-leadership-race-to-replace-mcguinty-has-tripled-grit-ranks

Wishing All a Safe, Active and Healthy Canadian Up Coming Thanksgiving Weekend, Jour de l'Action de grâce !

Our Canadian parliament on January 31, 1957, made the following proclamation:

“ A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed, to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October. ”

Prior to this in 1879 our parliament had declared the 6^th day in November as Thanksgiving day.

While our motives for celebrating this holiday have changed over the years, the idea of giving thanks remains a strong value for many Canadians both new and old.

Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and Day is an occasion to get together with family, friends and associates to eat and perhaps drink joyously together and for many close the cottage for the coming winter.

It is also the least stressful national holiday and all about being thankful for the great benefits, rights and freedoms that we Canadians sometimes take for granted of having the privilege of residing in the best country in the World.


A Happy Thanksgiving Day and Weekend to all.

The Tax and Spend Theory is NOT a Solution for Running our Government or Managing Taxpayers Money across the GTHA.

$ GTHA BIG MOVE $            

The middle class and poor within the community and society CANNOT continue along with this ruse of a road for new money proposals.

Because in reality it simply represents additional, increased or new taxes on top of existing ones already carried on the backs of  societies overburden individual for property taxes, rents, home prices, income taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, GST and HST.

More and increased revenue tools are NOT the answer nor realistically required.

This so-called big move is simply a ruse to raise new taxes so that our career politicians with their political parties and non-elected technocrats, bureaucrats and public service unions can maintain their current cushy lifestyles on the back of future generations of our youth.

The financial facts already show us that Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton etc. do not have the investments required for the maintenance of the current outdated and much-needed repairs for existing city infrastructures let alone news ones for road tolls at the expense of our sewers, waters and hydro systems.

This report is biased and one-sided as it only pertains to new methods of taxation or increased taxes, in my humble opinion.

No mention of pay as you go financing, zero-based budgeting process, spending reductions or program eliminations, tax decrease for the property owners, a GTHA across the board business tax increases for public transportation services, negotiated austerity packages, councils inability and unwillingness to implement meaningful and much needed economic structural reforms, tax evasion by both corporations and citizens, reduction in public service positions and smaller size councils in line with provincial and federal riding's.

Taxpayers throughout the GTHA are more than open to an open transparent all-encompassing discussion of government financing and expenditures.

However unlike the media, unelected technocrats and civil servants, the citizens in today’s society want to discuss both sides of the coin, Spending and Taxes along with all options, not just more of the same with new revenue sources.

The gridlock is with those that have only the one view of seeking more revenues in any form from an already overburdened and taxed out society and citizenry. 

Up DATE http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/11/23/graphic-canadas-national-debt/

Source

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-50609.pdf

Born in Canada Requires No Obligations for the Inherent Rights of Citizenship! Perhaps it should?

For all of us who were born in Canada, it is taken for granted by our government and legal system, that at birth without any obligations or question one automatically is entitled to all rights of the country (Canada) where we were born.  

With today’s globalization and ease of air, sea or rail travel should we as a country perhaps start to at least question this automatic citizenship with its legal rights?

I put this topic forward because of today, especially with the ease of international air travel, individuals who themselves might already be Canadian citizens, not by birth, have planned to have a child or two or three here in Canada and then within a month or two of giving birth hightail it back to their original countries of birth so that their children will be homed and live outside of Canada for most of their young life’s?

How at birth can one recognize, accept, understand and later abide by the fact that Canada is founded upon the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and rule of law? 

Is this right? You the taxpayers and citizens should debate and decide this obvious flaw within our present born in Canada automatic citizenship handout policy!

Canada citizenship's for those immigrating or becoming a permanent resident of Canada do require a number of year’s of actual residency requirements and other obligations.

Should Canada perhaps not have at least a minimum of say 10 years of actual residence of a newborn before our government and the legal system automatically hands out citizenship to babies birthed in Canada?       

If we had had such a policy then we might not have been politically blindfolded and saddled with the Omar Khadr child warrior catastrophe?  

For all Canadians, these questions shall, unfortunately, remain until such time as citizens and our government no longer will have to question if born in Canada babies and child warriors honestly, transparently and legally full-filled such a commitment of a residency obligation for those inherent rights of a valued Canadian citizenship document.     

It’s our decision Canada!

Sources:

http://timestoronto.blogspot.ca/

http://www.capitalnews.ca/index.php/news/citizenship

http://www.weeklyvoice.com/headlines/ottawa-cracks-down-on-citizenship-frauds/