Post Your Economic Platform Here

[mileslunn]

For Canada mine are

Taxation

- Raise the GST back to 7%
- Introduce a revenue neutral carbon tax
- Bring in an AMT whereby those making over 100K must pay minimum 25% tax, 30% tax for over 200K and 35% for over 500K and this would be for the combined federal + Provincial, not federal alone.
- Maintain our corporate tax rate as long as it is not in the top 10 highest in the OECD, but lower if the combined federal + Provincial puts us in the top 10
- Reduce the number of brackets to 3 with the following rates: Lowest at 13%, Middle at 20% and highest at 29%.  These would be federal only but essentially those in the lowest if you include provincial would pay between 18.05% to 24% depending on province and highest would pay between 43.7% to 50% depending on province.
-  Introduce a lower corporate tax rate of 10% in economically depressed areas such as Atlantic Canada to encourage more firms to open there.
-  Put a 49.9% cap on the top rate so if provinces raise rates enough it pushes the combined rate over 50%, a lower federal rate would be paid.  Otherwise no person would ever pay over 50% in taxes.
-  Raise the minimum threshold for taxation gradually until it hits 20K so the first 20K is tax free
-  Do a trial on GAI in a few communities and implement nation wide if it works.

Spending

- Maintain spending increases at or below Inflation + economic growth + population growth
-  For every new program implemented, axe one existing one.
- Focus spending on priorities such as infrastructure, health care, military, and poverty reduction while cut spending elsewhere.
-  Regular audits of all departments and automatic pay deductions for any cabinet minister who spends above allotted budget.
-  In Union negotiations, any savings the unions can find, they will get a raise at half that.  So if they find 5% savings, they get an additional 2.5% bonus in raises.
-  No deficits except during recessions and once recession ends, develop a scheduled plan to return the budget to balance.
-  All surpluses will be split 1/3 for new spending, 1/3 for tax cuts, and 1/3 for debt reduction.
- Reduce overlap by staying out of spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction or municipal and instead transfer tax points.

Economic Growth

- Ensure the Canada's tax levels remain competitive with both G7 and OECD levels.
- Reduce red tape to make Canada an attractive place to do business.
- Sell government assets that serve no purpose and encourage pensions to invest or be part owners in infrastructure including P3's
- End Canada Post monopoly and privatize before it becomes redundant
- Work with Atlantic provinces to expand universities and have them specialize in areas.
- Create clusters of excellence and specialization in different areas similar to Silicon Valley
- Reduce regulatory regime for resource extraction and pipelines so as to encourage growth in the resource sector.
- Give bonus points under the immigration points system for immigrants who wish to settle outside the large cities like Australia does to encourage more development in underdeveloped areas while reduce strain on real estate market in large centres.
- Increase immigration in the economic class while cut immigration levels under the family class.
- Make it easier for immigrants to come who wish to start their own business.
- Make it mandatory to show proficiency in either English or French to get citizenship so as to encourage immigrants to learn one of the official languages.
-  Repeal or revise the Canada Health act to allow a parallel private system to ease the burden on the public system.
-  Study the feasibility of high speed rail in the Quebec-Windsor corridor and if economic benefits exceed costs than proceed in building.  Also try to use a P3 BOOT model (Build own operate and transfer) so as to racking up debt and transferring costs to private sector.
- Privatize Airports
-  Gradually raise the retirement age to 70 so as to keep OAS costs under control and allow for enhanced CPP payouts without raising premiums (No premium rises in CPP).  Make an exemption for those in manual labour and who are physically unable to work to 70 to retire earlier.
-  Expand free trade agreements including implementing CETA, trying to restart the TPP and failing that open free trade talks with Japan.  Start free trade talks with both Mercosur, Andean Community, ASEAN Countries (if TPP cannot be resurrected) and India.  Free trade talks with China but use extreme caution.  Begin Free trade talks with the UK once it leaves the EU unless it remains part of the customs union and try and have the free trade agreement as close as possible to CETA.

[mileslunn]

- Consumption/sales tax of 9.9%, with an exception for those making below $25,000 a year
- Taxes: 28.4(+10.0) cents per gallon and 39.4(+15.0) cents per gallon for diesel fuel
- Raising federal minimum wage to $10.10
- Hickenlooper-Kasich for two years, then Healthy Americans Act
- Negotiate sanctions on China until they put pressure on North Korea to release political prisoners and liberalize, presenting a united front with Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union
- https://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/wydenryan.pdf
- Support further foreign aid to Rojava, Peshmerga, and the Syrian National Council, as well as consider temporary aid to Tahrir al-Sham to weaken Assad($20 billion)
- Free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Ireland, Argentina, and (hopefully) all of the European Union

Income Taxes:
1: 0%
2: 5%
3.0: 27%
3.5: 30%
4: 33%
5: 35%
6: 37.5%
7.0: 39.5%
7.25: 42.5%
7.5+: 44.5%
(All hikes equal on the respective and corresponding brackets of married couples, single people, etc.)
- Cut all welfare besides food stamps and HUD funding
- Guarantee basic income of up to $20,000, as a supplement for other income(if there is any), and for those who make below that and work above it, they will continue to receive $5,000->$3,000->$1,000 in a three year period after they cross the line of $20,000 per year; states are encouraged to give further funding of a basic income
- Increase NASA budget to $184,000,000,000
- Carbon tax on companies and company/business transportation

What do you guys think of these modifications? I'm thinking of adding suggested reforms for education...

Agree with most except income taxes.  Also would add cut corporate taxes to 25% (US has highest corporate tax rate in OECD) while get rid of the loopholes as some corporations pay nothing and others the high rate, so tax everyone at 25%.  Income taxes I would reduce to three brackets and a fourth temporary high bracket until the budget is balanced and would be lowered until it disappears.  Also state and municipal income tax deductions from federal taxes would end so total taxation would not change that much.

Bottom at 10%
Middle at 25%
Top at 35%

For the top it would go down in low taxed states, but would be up in high taxed states.  In California the top rate is now 47.6% whereas under this it would be 48.3%.  The reason is the top rate is 13.3% but is tax deductible so it is not now 39.6% + 13.3% but rather (100 - 13.3)*.396 = federal rate + state rate.

[mileslunn]

It is unworkable. The consumption tax is just crazy to implement. How the hell do you waive off the tax for some low income people? Are they supposed to be 2 prices? How do they check every sale & ensure that person deserves the tax waive off?

Also, there will be  huge leakages with this kind of thing. Indirect taxes are easy to collect & a small tax can net huge revenue & are almost impossible to avoid - Which is why govt all over the world like it. But this kind of thing has probably not been done & is likely impossible to implement.

That is easy to do, you have a sales tax rebate for low income individuals.  You estimate how much a typical low household would pay a year in sales tax and send a rebate cheque at the end of every year.  In Canada we have a GST rebate for low income individuals so that would achieve the same goal at a much lower cost.  It might not bring it to exactly zero, but would average out close to it.