Dear Editor,
Blaine Calkins, MP, Wetaskiwin, is misleading Canadians (Sylvan Lake News, Dec. 4). Family income splitting, as designed by the Conservative government, will only help the wealthy in Canada. Those who need it will not benefit. The current plan will benefit 15 per cent of Canadians, not the 85 per cent who need a tax break or assistance if they do not pay taxes.
Canada's Minister for Social Development, Candice Bergan, has stated that single parents will not benefit from income splitting, as there is no one to split income with. However, some countries, such as France, allow income splitting with a child. This makes more sense than the current tax. Even our former Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, questioned whether income splitting would "benefit our society".
Poor families with both spouses working may not earn enough to split taxes or their incomes may be similar, thus negating the chance to split incomes. Poor families may not even pay taxes.
Parliament voted 25 years ago to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. The child poverty rate has not changed from 14 per cent. Family income splitting will do nothing to reduce child poverty in Canada. It will simply move $2.7 billion from those who need it to those who do not need it. This is a failed social policy.
Better use for the $2.7 billion would be to enhance the Canada Child Tax Benefit to $5,000 per child (UNESCO suggestion).Another use, a universal daycare program,would allow single parents to get off of social assistance and work or at least put food on the table. And how are poor parents going to benefit from a Children's Fitness Tax Credit?
Income splitting is a tax gift to Canada's rich that the rest of us will have to pay for!
Ray Kowalski,
Sylvan Lake