Greens and Tax Policy

The Green Party of Canada has been receiving some limited coverage since the election call, and they are expected to garner something like 5% of the vote nationally, and almost 13% of the vote in British Columbia, I think it wise to look a little more closely at aspects of their platform, particularly where their stated tax policy is concerned.

As of my writing this, the Greens currently have only a vague outline of their tax policy. They make general pronouncements on large shifts in the structure and method of taxation, but they don't provide enough detail to be able to have a clear understanding of how they would implement taxes, especially in relation to differences in income between rich and poor.

I think, given that the Green Party leader Jim Harris is a former Progressive Conservative party member, it is important to look closely at taxation. This is especially important for those with a left of centre political point of view, who are concerned about widespread corporatism and the growing gap between the rich and the poor; but who also appreciate a number of the Green Party's progressive stances on many issues.

Here are a few points on taxation taken from the Green Party platform, my commentary follows:

Lower taxes on income, profit and investment, to promote increased productivity and job creation. Raise taxes on harmful activities such as pollution, waste and inefficiency.

While lowering taxes on income, profit and investment does not automatically equal regressive taxation, it does indicate a business driven perspective on the part of the Green Party. The lack of detail here, for those interested in promoting social justice is potentially alarming.

Income taxes are a familiar aspect of life for all Canadians who work, and reducing tax in this area is almost universally welcomed. Although most Canadians these days also want assurances that cutting taxes won't result in the cessation of certain important services, such as universal health care. Most Canadians are in fact willing to pay more tax to ensure certain vital services improve.

But it is also important to maintain an emphasis on progressive taxation where income is concerned. The wealthy benefit disproportionately from the publicly created and maintained infrastructure of society. Without it they would not be able to concentrate wealth in their own hands to the degree that they do. Taxation, as incomes get high, should reflect the benefits of society that the wealthy enjoy.

No matter how much personal genius is at the root of an idea or service that makes someone wealthy, whether it be a book (the Harry Potter series and the wealth it has generated for Rowling come to mind) or some other invention; that wealth is largely made possible not by that genius, but by the whole structure of society. The distribution of the ideas, the manufacture of the products or services that result; all these things come about due to the labour of countless souls and the existence of a private and public commons of transportation and communications systems, whose interconnection and interdependence is next to incalculable.

The rich should pay their fair share of that boon, because it society's recognition of their genius that provides them their largesse, not their genius in and of itself. They owe an enormous debt, because they have received a reward that far outweighs their contribution.

Increasing tax, as certain levels of income are reached, is merely a recognition of the benefits the wealthy receive from society. And while I doubt the Green party is suggesting the elimination of progressive income taxes, it is important that they define what they mean when they state their intention to reduce them. Where and how will they implement the cuts?

Profit, and investment taxes, however, are a different story. Small businesses can certainly benefit from tax reform that specifically targets them, and giving small business tax breaks, grants and incentives, particularly during their start-up phase, would be helpful for getting them established, and thus likely to employ more Canadians. But the simple fact is that most Canadians are employed. Money for profit and investment is generally a benefit of the rich and large corporations, who again benefit disproportionately from societal infrastructure.

Simply stating that the Green party plans to cut taxes in this area, without providing a sense of where and how, sends too vague a message. It hints at a neo-liberal approach to markets that has repeatedly not worked, and has in fact led to monopolistic practices, as ever larger corporations are able to pool their assets and use them to influence government.

Now it is important to point out that the Greens seek to replace the cuts to the aforementioned income-based taxes with more consumptive based taxes. These replacements would include taxes on things like pollution, and gasoline.

Canadians have one of the highest rates of energy consumption per capita in the world. The burden of reducing that consumption has to be borne by all of us, rich and poor, because we all consume too much. Even a large proportion of the poor in this country live in, or have access to, far better conditions than many of the poor in other regions of the world. Taxing consumption will provide tangible incentives to all Canadians to reduce consumption, particularly when the revenue from that consumption is used to fund subsidies and research into alternate and more efficient uses of energy.

But consumption taxes are not adequate replacements for taxing income. Individuals, rich or poor, pay the same amount for the same objects or units of consumption. Tax on income must remain a major feature of any tax policy to balance the disproportionate benefits wealthy individuals and corporations receive from a smoothly functioning industrial society. They must pay their fair share for the hard work of all Canadians that makes their wealth possible.

I, for one, would certainly like to know where exactly the Green Party of Canada stands on tax policy. I want the details of how they would implement taxation. I want a budget breakdown that says in black and white how the revenues will be gathered and where they will be spent. Their platform leaves a lot of holes to fill, and my worry is that too many Canadians will simply fill those holes with their belief in the Green Party's good intentions. That's not good enough, not for me.