The Canadian experience
James Forsyth 3:25pm
Tim Montgomerie, who spent a lot of time with the Canadian Conservatives during the campaign, has a good piece up on yesterday’s election in Canada which saw the Conservatives maintain their status as the largest party but fail to win an overall majority.
The one issue I would take with Tim on is green taxes, which Tim is very down on. I’d argue that conservatives should support moving the tax burden from work to waste. Also, green taxes if properly applied can be used to lower—or scrap—the taxes which press down hardest on low and middle-income families.
PS I can’t get through an article about Canada without telling my favourite Canadian joke which may well be apocryphal. During a 4th of July party at the US embassy during the 1990s, a rather well-oiled Tory MP approached the American ambassador and rather emotionally asked him why did America have to have a revolution. To which the ambassador replied, ‘Have you been to Canada sir?’
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Comments
David
October 15th, 2008 4:03pm"I’d argue that conservatives should support moving the tax burden from work to waste"
True, but Tim doesn't like anything that smacks of being good to the environment. It's a Marxist plot, don't you know.
Hysteria
October 15th, 2008 4:08pmapochraphyl ????
DWL
October 15th, 2008 4:17pmapocryphal.
James Forsyth
October 15th, 2008 4:19pmHysteria, It is an
apocryphal spelling of
apocryphal. Thanks for the spot
TevorsDen
October 15th, 2008 4:42pmRemember ... Canada gave us Maurice Strong
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3618
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/edesk042305.htm
BTW - did you know that with a bit of help from Maurice Strong, Al Gore buys his 'carbon offsets' ... from himself?
http://windfarms.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/al-groe-and-maurice-strong-con-artists-extordinaire/
Rhoda Klapp
October 15th, 2008 5:48pmIf you put the tax burden on waste (or whatever the cxurrent sin du jour is) and then you reduce the sinful activity, you have to keep raising the other taxes anyway. That's why government shouldn't try to affect behaviour by taxes. If it's wrong, consider making it illegal. If it's not, let people do it. Green taxes are mostly wrong, except where they have a beneficial effect without raising revenue.
Tanuki
October 15th, 2008 7:24pmSurely a truly ethical Conservative policy is not to move the tax burden from "work to waste" but to reduce the tax burden itself. 'Green' taxation is sumptuary - a tax on the benefits-of-success and punishing aspiration. Surely we shou,d be saying - you've worked for it so now you should be able to enjoy the nice car/house/foreign holidays.
If anything we should be punishing failure and low aspiration, not achievement.
TGF UKIP
October 15th, 2008 7:36pmThere's already far too much green claptrap floating about this country and I thought I could rely on the innate common sense of this website to get away from it. Kindly save all the green musings for your metropolitan Tory get togethers, James.
Hysteria
October 15th, 2008 8:39pmJames - it wasn't really a "spot" - it kinda leapt out of the page and hit me round the chops !!!