Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 165
greenshift.ca the liberals plan for the future
6/19/2008 at 11:37 AM
The time has come to do what is right – not what is easy – for our environment and for our future.
That is why the Liberal Party of Canada has introduced the Green Shift, a bold plan that will cut income taxes, put a price on pollution, fight poverty and position Canada to be a leader in the 21st century global economy.
Our plan is as powerful as it is simple. We will cut taxes on those things we all want more of such as income, investment and innovation, and we will shift those taxes to what we all want less of: pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and waste.
Energy costs are soaring all over the world. While energy prices continue to rise, we need to encourage energy efficiency. We need to change wasteful habits. We need to discourage polluting activities.
But an economic slow-down is also threatening Canada – too many jobs are disappearing. So we need to create new, well-paying, green jobs.
We also need a fairer and more progressive tax system so that we help all Canadians become part of the solution to the climate change crisis while protecting lower- and middle-income Canadians and more vulnerable Canadians – seniors, the disabled, etc. – from rising energy costs.
Over four years, the length of a government’s usual mandate, we will put an increasing price on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels, like coal and natural gas. This greenhouse gas pollution is what traps heat in our atmosphere and causes climate change.
Higher energy costs will be off-set by tax cuts. We will dramatically reduce other taxes, for individuals and for businesses. We will make sure that this dramatic tax shift is revenue neutral.
It cannot be, and we commit that it will not become, a tax grab by government. This commitment will be enshrined in legislation, and we will have the Auditor General look at the numbers and confirm this each and every year to Canadians.
But putting money back in the hands of Canadians is only part of the solution. Investing in renewable energy and conservation – helping families to use less and pay less – is also key to our plan. As part of our broader climate change plan, Canadians will have access to a full suite of programs to help them reduce their own carbon footprint and the pollution they produce.
This will allow Canadians to save even more money on their own energy costs, while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution.
Our plan includes many other tax measures that will ensure no one gets left behind – specific measures for low-income earners, for families, for rural and Northern residents.
By the fourth year of our plan, we expect that a family with two children and a combined income of $20,000 will save almost $2,500: a family with two children earning $40,000 a year will save nearly $2,000: a family with two children earning $60,000 will save over $1,300, as will a family earning $80,000.
To attract investment and create jobs, our plan will also see corporations having their tax rates cut so they can invest more money in reducing their own pollution and increasing their energy efficiency.
In the coming weeks and months, Liberals will be criss-crossing the country holding discussions on our plan.
Read the Green Shift today and join our growing coalition – a coalition that crosses party lines and will move us beyond outdated notions of what it means to be right- or left-wing.
A coalition that will cross generational divides, as older generations work to leave to their children a better planet than they inherited, and younger generations unleash their passion and innovation against the challenge of climate change.