4 Terrace Review: - Wednesday, April, 1987

Hubert | 7 |
Beyer

Terrace Review

If British Columbians needed proof that Bill Vander
Zalm meant it when he promised to usher in a new style.
of government, they got it with the budget.

~ Considering the fiscal realities of the post-recession
era, the budget is nothing short of astounding both in its

look like a traditional Social Credit budget.

It is safe to guess that without the $350 million: flow-
ing into provincial coffers from the 15 percent export
tax on softwood lumber, there would have been no re-
duction in the sales tax. But it is equally important to
point out that the temptation to grab the lumber funds
and keep the sales tax at the seven percent level must
have been great.

- The initial one-point reduction i in the sales tax to-six
percent will cost the government in excess of $250 mil-
lion in lost revenue. But it appears that Vander Zalm
understands the great unfairness of a sales tax, which is
totally regressive, and is intent on reducing, if not elim-

‘inating it altogether.
The 10 percent increase in welfare rates (five percent
. on June 1 and a further five percent on Dec. 1) is higher
than most critics expected and shows that Vander Zalm
is determined not to be regarded in the same light as his

me proof o

Victoria Correspondent. yy

financial and political implications. It certainly doesn’ t

predecessor, Bill Bennett. He obviously wants to show -

There wilt undoubtedly be some grumbling over the
increase in personal income tax, but the critics should
remember that the effects of that increase will be offset

to an extent by the reduction in the sales tax and the

elimination of the restaurant meal tax.
There will also be some criticicism of the increase in

_ small business income-tax, but Finance Minister Mel. |

Couvelier explains the reason for that move this way:
“If this is not done, there is an opportunity for some

taxpayers, particularly high income: professionals, to

pay less by incorporating.and having their income taxed

_as dividends of a small business corporation rather than

as salary. This would be unfair to those who have no
choice in the way. their income is received.’? -

“The most unpopular measure will prove. to be the in-
troduction of a tax on real estate transactions. The sale
of any piece of real estate -- residential, commercial and
industrial -- will now be subject to a one percent tax up
to a $200,000 value and two percent on anything above
that. This move will, for instance, result in-higher rents,
following the sale of an apartment building.

Equally. unpopular will be the budget measure requir-

_ing senior citizens to pay.75 percent of the $5 dispensing
costs for prescription drugs up to a maximum of $125 a

year. But the effect on low income senior citizens will be

offset by a corresponding $125 a year increase in the

provincial ‘income supplement for seniors.
Motorists driving Detroit dinosaurs will be upset by

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Wisdomisa |
forgotten value

resh star
in new budg

‘that his government tempers fi fiscal restraint with com-
~ -passion.

woh

the increase in the tax on leaded fuel, ‘but, let’ 5 face it, 7
the stuff does foul up the environment and: poses a:

health hazard.

The budget constitutes a major. departure from the

Bennet government’s attitude towards education. While
education took a severe beating during Bennett's re-
straint years, Vander Zalm’s first. budget contains sub-
stantial increases for schools, colleges and universities.
The budget also responds to the need for more day
care facilities. A total of $26.7 million will be spent on
day care funding, a an increase of about 30 percent over
last year.

The mining industry will be somewhat unhappy with
the budget. The industry had hoped for a number of tax
concessions, but the only.measure in the budget is an éx-
emption from’ sales tax of a number of mining-related
materials that will save the industry an estimated $10

-million a year at best.

As for-the deficit, the budget: didn’t make much of a

‘dent. The anticipated deficit: is $850 million which,

Couvelier stresses, is $321 miltion below. last: year 5
“‘revised’’ deficit. But he didn’t say that last year’s $ Pro-
jected deficit was only $875 million.

The deficit for the coming year will bring our total

‘provincial debt to $5.2 billion, and.I bet it'll be some

time before we start paying back that debt. Allof which
didn’t deter Couvelier from promising a balanced bud-
get at some time inthe future.

“This Social Credit government is determined to .

balance the budget and, further, to reduce the outstand-

: : _ ing debt within the next several years,’’ he said i in a his
a budget speech to the legislature. —

- Among the minor tax changes, the elimination. of the
“restaurant meal tax was probably the best move. It was

a dubious tax to start with, Restaurant owners hated it,
the patrons hated it and even finance ministry officials
weren’t very fond of it.: It probably: cost: more to ad-
minister than it produced. so

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a , . To the editor,

Terrace

Some. provincial gov-

_ ernments, like Alberta and
_ British Columbia, promis- —

ed to match the amount of
money: that wheelchair
athlete Rick Hansen is

_taising for the disabled in

their particular province.

This is a nice gesture,.

_ isn’t it? Not so. according

“ot

to some liberal church

leaders, ‘They are’ pro- .
testing. “this humanitarian —
“measure ‘and’ are saying.
“> that this money should be
‘ used.to create jobs for the

poor.” :

*

People

on the shoulders of the

almighty State, or Big
Brother as George Orwell

calls it,

-Jobs should be created
by free enterprise; in-
dividual initiative, yes, by
these hated ‘‘capitalists’’.
The trouble, however, is:

as soon as people do get |

“jobs, they are out on the

or, Sex, nationality, ancestry or place: “street picketing and are

_ demanding such high

wages that the businesses
of their employers go belly
up and they themselves are
out: on . the street once
more,

. Many workers are. cut-
ting their own throat,
because they bend for

pressure and propaganda. — |

Not only on the side of the

bosses is greediness, also

on the side of the workers.
This wrecks our economy
and we cannot blame our
government for that, can

we?

Another effective way
to create jobs is when

mothers decide ‘to. stay

home with their children
as nature demands. ‘‘Back
to the country’”’ is fine.
This was a slogan during
the hippy movement.
“Back to our children”
should be a ‘Slogan | for
1987.

A. family. must. be ‘able
to live on. the .wages a

father makes..If not, one.

can blame bad. manage-
ment. A lot. of folks do
not know how to handle

money wisely. My parents --
could.do a miracle with a
, continued on page 5

: li am of the opinion that
-ittis not the task and duty -
aa) fi ‘any: government at all
“to ereate jobs.
should. learn to look after

“themselves and not act like
babies and lean helplessly _

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