Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, August 25, 1993 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER OF: ONTARIO CANADIAN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ANEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION rM m CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD 25,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Inc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario L1N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% recycled content using vegetable based inks. © All written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation of Canadian copyright law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit fine to the whitby Free Press. s *he *itr.s Where's Ed?· To the Editor: Where is former NDP leader Ed Broadbent? With the exception of the 1992 constitutional debate and 'double-dipping,' 've heard very little about his public political opinions on rising poverty and unemployment, Rae's social Address the need for ice To the Editor: Copy of letter to Mayor Tom Edwards and councillor John Dolstra I would like to take this opportunity to re-emphasize what should be an obvious problem. The hockey facilities within the Whitby-Brooklin area cannot meet the current demands. As a concerned taxpayer and father of two sons, it looks like my eldest son, almost aged 7, and a lot af other boys, will not have a chance to play hockey this year. t is very frustrating to spend two and a half hours in line with a lot of other parents to find out my son has to go on a waiting list. Parents lining up at 9 a.m. for a 7 p.m. hockey registration reflect the demand that exists today. Other parents who had to work later in the day ran the risk of getting a few spots that may be left over. With the area growth still healthy, this situation will only get worse. Something we have all taken for granted needs to be addressed now. Budget and plans need to be put in place immediately to provide more ice pads in the Whitby area. As a concerned taxpayer and parent. I implore you to consider this a priority item for the youth of the community. If you don't, maybe next year you can line up for me at 9 a.m. and spend a day seeing the hurt and anger of a lot of parents. Then you can try to explain to the children why they can't play hockey as their names go on a waiting list. Stephen Smith Whitby contract, billion-dollar heli- copters, NAFTA and so on. Our nation is at a point where an outstanding leader such as Ed could impose considerable influence on our leaders, including PM Kim Campbell and Ontario's "pin-stripe" socialist Bob Rae, as well as on the electorate these important socio-economic and political issues. As head of the International Centre for Human Rights and Development, Ed should know that social justice and human rights go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. Is it safe to say that Brian Mulroney's intentions were to appoint Ed to a distinguished government position so the former NDP MP could not pose a political thfeat to the Conservative election campaign? lt's been a long time since I last heard Ed standing up for the rights of ordinary Canadian taxpayers and workers. While there are public sector job cuts and medicare is being threatened by even the Rae government, how can Ed reasonably explain that he is entitled to a retirement pension while drawing a handsome public-service salary? What makes retired MLAs and MPs and most current parliamentarians exempt f rom public sector cutbacks? I believe there are other retired MPs, Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats in the same boat, so I'm not singling out Ed. But he should be willing to make sacrifices just like every ordinary public or private worker has in this economic depression. Double-dipping is a luxury this country and province cannot afford. I do miss the old 1970s-80s Edward Broadbent who, more than others, fought for social justice and equality, and world peace and disarmament. Okay, he is retired from elected office, Audrey McLaughlin is the NDP's current leader, and Mike Breaugh is now Oshawa MP. However, political retirement did not prevent the late Tommy Dougias from supporting the preservation of universal medicare, and Stephen Lewis fron speaking his mind on world affairs, so whatever happened to the old Edward Broadbent? Edward L Sawdon Toronto Viewpoint Fewer, simpler taxes Excerots from the address made recentby in Whitby to the Fair Tax Commission by Ian Bergin, chair of the government relations committee for the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, and Ed Lukow, Oshawa chamber member. The commission is a task force established by the provincial government to look at taxation and equity of taxation in Ontario. Elements of fairness "... All levels of governments must deal with the question of raising more revenue through taxation or reducing the level of government spending. One thing is for certain: in terms of government programs, we are living beyond our means. The people of this province, and country, cannot continue to demand government services if we do not have the funds to pay for them." Economic Impact "One of the prerequisites of a 'fair tax' system is that it must be supportive of a dynamic, productive economy. Th is is essential to provide quality employment opportunities for its citizens, income for people to enjoy the goods and services of our market economy and tax revenue to support the important services provided by the public sector. "Tax proliferation, tax complexity and high tax rates are depressing the economy. The depressed economy means lower total tax revenue, higher unemployment and greater strain on our 'social safety net.' "The government response has been to add taxes, increase complexity and further increase tax rates, which further depresses the economy which then further reduces the total tax revenue. We are on a downward spiral. Instead of stepping back to look at the problem, the next step is to increase taxes again, com- pounding the problem. "Any proposed changes in our tax systen must be carefully assessed to determine their likely impact on economic activity." Complexity and cost of compliance "Another prerequisite of a 'fair tax' systen is that it must be understandable. All elements of our tax systen have become increasingly complex in recent years... "Any recommendations to improve the 'fairness' of our tax system, in our view, must include: • tax simplication, • a reduction in the number of taxes and • consideration of the costs of compliance and the minimization of those costs." Ability to pay *We recognize that the commission's mandate forced it to address tax fairness with a very narrow focus. Given this fact, we agree that there must be a correlation between tax fairness and the ability of a taxpayer to pay taxes. "Your discussion paper implies that improving the fairness of the tax system, as measured by the relationship between tax and ability to pay, would require changing the tax mix resulting in a shift in tax revenue from regressive taxes to progressive taxes. However, your discussion paper identifies nearly all taxes as regressive, with the exception of personal income taxes. We do not agree with this conclusion. "In 1991, personal income taxes accounted for 31 per cent of the provincial tax revenue while consumption taxes (retail sales tax and gasoline, fuel, tobacco and alcohol taxes) accounted for 26 p er cent. Both of these taxes are ased on an 'ability to pay.' However, the ability to pay is measured differently. A 'fair tax' system needs to include a mix of income and consumption-based taxes." The 'one year' tax window "Your discussion paper failed to address the timing issues surrounding the payment of taxes and the problem with looking at some taxes through a 'one year' window... "All'of the tax working groups and this commission's discussion paper failed to address the amount of income tax paid by individuals or businesses over multiple years (say five or 10) before determining whether a deduction or deferral resulted in one taxpayer paying less income tax than another." Wealth "Your discussion paper implies that a person's wealth indicates an 'ability to pay' and should be subject to some form of taxation. The flaw with this reasoning is that any form of wealth tax represents a form of double taxation. Wealth represents an accumulation of after-tax earnings and unrealized capital asset appreciation. "The after-tax earnings are obviously tax paid, and the appreciation in value of capital assets will be subject to income tax when the assets are sold and the gain is realized. How can double taxation of any income be fair?" To the editor. Heritage revealed To the Editor: The past, present and future are important parts of everyone's lives. . Remembering and preserving Whitby's past, influences the lives of all residents of Whitby. I would like to compliment the Whitby Free Press on efforts to reveal a very valuable resource, the heritage of Whitby, to readers. The column 'Yesterday' not only gives examples of the many historical events that have taken place in Whitby, but also highlights the valuable varied architecture that makes up our town. I would like to especially mention the 'Whitby Trivia' column that The Free Press has been running for the Whitby Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC). It certainly is very much appreciated that, even in this economic climate, the newspaper continues to support our committee by providing valuable newspaper space free of charge. On behaf of not only LACAC but all residents of Whitby, I would like to thank publisher Doug Anderson and the staff of the Whitby Free Press for maintaining an awareness of the Town of Whitby's heritage. LACAC looks forward to your continued support in the future. Rick McDonnell Chair Whitby LACAC Help appreciated To the Editor: On behaf of the YMCA Durham Youth Employment Service, the Whitby Summer Start program would like to thank the employers who participated in and supported the summer program. Kelly Hobbs and Joanne Ariv The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of concem to our readers. Letters should be bref and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters must be accompanied by the nane. address and telephone number of the writer. However, on request. your nane may be withheld from publication if we agree there is a valid reason. The newspaper reserves the right.to reject or edit all letters. Send to: The Editor. Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby. Ont. LiN 5S1, or drop through our mail slot at 131 Brock St. N.