Lækkum skatta

Það er segin saga að þó að flestir stjórnmálamenn segist, í það minnsta stundum, vilja lækka skatta, telja flestir þeirra að rétti tíminn sé ekki til þess núna (alveg sama hvenær  það er sagt).  Hvað þetta varðar skiptir engu máli hvort að ég er að fylgjast með fréttum hér heima eða "heima" (Kanada og Ísland).

Ég vildi því vekja athygli á grein sem nýlega birtist á vef The National Post, en hún fjallar um skattalækkanir í BC, eða "Bresku Kolumbíu" í upphafi aldarinnar.

Þar segir m.a.:

"Most finance ministers say now is not the time to cut taxes. But the experience of British Columbia provides a different perspective. In 2001, after a decade of dismal economic performance, the newly elected government enacted a series of bold, incentive-based tax cuts. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. If Canadian governments are worried about the health of the economy, they should follow B.C.'s lead and cut taxes.

Specifically, the B.C. government reduced the corporate income tax rate from 16.5% to 13.5%. As a result, B.C. went from having the second highest corporate income tax rate among the provinces to having the third lowest. The province also eliminated the economically damaging general corporate capital tax.

The largest portion of the reductions was a 25% across-the-board reduction in personal income tax rates. Again, British Columbia went from having the second highest top marginal personal income tax rate (19.7%) to the second lowest (14.7%), behind only Alberta (10.0%).

The economic fortunes of the province changed dramatically. The province went from having the lowest per person GDP growth among the provinces between 1997 and 2001 to being one of the fastest growing economies in the country between 2002 and 2006.

Not surprisingly, the influence of the personal and corporate income tax rate cuts on B.C.'s economic turnaround has been hotly debated. Many people, particularly those who opposed the tax cuts, simply point to strong commodity prices as the sole reason for the province's economic improvement.

However, a new Fraser Institute study by one of Canada's leading economists, University of Alberta professor Bev Dahlby, assesses the economic impacts of the 2001 tax cuts and finds that the tax cuts had, and will continue to have, a profound impact on economic growth.

Specifically, Dr. Dahlby found that B.C.'s 2001 corporate income tax rate reductions will increase gross domestic product per person by 18% above the level that would have resulted without the tax cut. Likewise, the personal income tax rate reductions will increase GDP per person by 7.6% above what would have prevailed in the absence of the cuts. In total, over the long term, British Columbians will see their average incomes increase by more than 25% as a result of the tax cuts."

"Talk of heightened economic uncertainty will likely dominate the budget season and is likely to be used as an excuse not to cut taxes. However, the results from B.C. show that incentive-based tax cuts yield large and ongoing economic benefits. In addition, by improving incentives and making investment more attractive, governments will yield greater revenues, since the economy will grow at a faster rate."

Greinina í heild má finna hér.

P.S. Þeim sem finnst þetta þekkilegar tölur, bendi ég á að taka inn í reikninginn að hér er eingöngu um að ræða tölur frá fylkjunum, síðan bætist "ríkið" við.  Skattálögur á einstaklinga má finna hér og hér má finna upplýsingar um skatta á fyrirtæki. Á þessu sést að þörfin fyrir að lækka skatta er enn brýnni hér í Kanada en á Íslandi og ekki síður að einfalda skattkerfið hér.