Taxing tales of toilet seats IN keeping with the buoyant spirit of opti- mism that is summer, today’s column features more good news. This time from the world . of economics, where, accord- ing to the free market think tank Fraser fastitute, Tax Freedom Day in Canada, arrived on June 27 — three days earlier than last year. Hallelujah taxpaying salary men and women and other wage slaves, this year we only had to work until June 26 to pay the total tax bill levied upon us by all levels of gov- ernment. ~ Three more days in which the f money you carn actually goes into your pocket. Up until June 26 everything you earned went to Orrawa, _ Victoria and city. hall for incin- eration courtesy of your free- spending, pork-barreling pols ani bureaucrats. ‘3 “net ote a free-spendi - Liberal federal povernment but a financially challenged socialist cabal in Victoria: ~ . this land, your tax bill is ing. . f course, you knew that. .Your paycheque ields less * in the wallet every “Could be because your tax den has fisen ‘over 1,168% * ‘since 1961. Back then ‘Tax Freedom Day came 55 days *- earlier. In 1961, ‘the 3 averag fami- v had an income of $5,000 and paid $1,675 in taxes. By 1996; that same family had an income of $46,139 and paid . “$21:242 deral. provincial, i rnunicipal di direct and hid- $4,786 goes to ‘$2,091 goes'to liquor,. $777 gocs to natural resource levies; BM and $995 goes to assorted taxes not listed above. ‘oral tax bil} from your $60,000? Close to half. Hard to stomach, yes. But it would be less so were the Money going to some com- mon good or other worthy cause, But, alas, waste is the watchword in Ottawa. Waste, duplication and obfuscation. Consider the information contained in a recent edition of The Taxpayer, the six times per year publication of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. In a story on corporate welfare, it reports Industry Canada’ s allocation of $11 bil- lion. in taxpayers” moucy in the forni of grants, loans, con- tributions and Joan guarantees ‘to Caiiadian corporations. According to Taxpayer edi- tor Dean Smith “over 49% of. the $1] billion ($5.6 billion} was authorized to 75 of Canada’s largest and most profitable corporations.” The largesse was spread out over a period from 1983 to 1997. Heading the corporate welfare list: Pract and Whitney Canada of Quebec, which picked up $950 millicn and mailbox De Havilland of Ontario, which took in $425 million. Of the top 25 corporate welfare bums, 21 are from either Quebec or Ontario. Only two of the 75 are from British Columbia. Sort of an eastern thing, you know. Besides the in-depth cor- porate welfare story, Smith provides a top 10 list of his favorite tales of horror from his files of government waste. Digest the following excerpts from the list. You'll Jaugh dill you cry. ‘Take for example No. 7 on the list, in which Smith chron- icles the Foreign Affairs department’s penchant for grand pianos. According to Smith, the department’s far flung empire of embassics is furnished with 74 grand pianos, which range in value from $10,000 up to $100,000. Canada’s Washington embassy alone has five. Smith also fists che local money dump established by the federal government on Squamish Band land way back in 1974. Chronicled in a pre- vious Ripping Yarns, the dump now gathers $4.4 mil- Hon in taxpayers’ moncy per car, The 22-hectare site at the foot of Capilano Road was originally supposed to be the site of a 400,000 sq. ft. federal government Pacific environ- ment centre. But that idea fell through. Unfortunately the government’s lease with the Squamish Band did not like- wise fall through. So taxpayers continue to toss good moncy after bad on the lease of an empty lot. As of last year approximately $45 million. Laughing ver? OK, then how about No. 3 on the rop 10 list, in which Smith recounts the tale of the “Expensive urinal.” According to Smith, in 1993 the National Art Gallery was decorated with a urinal over one of its doorways. The item was part of a 13-piecc collection by French artist Michael Duchamp, which the gallery purchased in 1971. The collection included a hat rack strung from the cciling and a bicycle rim sitting on a stool. The items were pur- chased for $160,000 (over $12,600 each). And No. 1 on the list: Undir the heading “Bumdcal,” a story cironi- cling a $50,000 system to slip plastic covers over toilet sears in government buildings after cach flush. Burt fears from officials that people might think they could contract AIDS off toilet seats ut the plan on hold. Two undred and fifty high tech toilet seats were consequently consigned to a warehouse to gather dust. They were later sold at auction for $300. But even that pathetic return was lost as shipping costs and auctioneer fees totaled $424. More good moncy down the toilet. With tax freedom day here already you might want to invest your first day’s pay in something to numb your sor- rows. Cheers, fellow wage slaves and salary dupes, Get happy. Or go mad. ' Liberals not the answer _ Dear Editor: Tt is no small wonder tliat other political ~ So Jeremy Dalton calls for North Shore vot- - ¢rs to re-elect Liberals, and throw Glen Clark out of office (June 21 News). Hmmm, not a ent, buc only by half! iticlans are ‘re-elected based on their ince the 1996 election, the four hore. Liberal MLAs, and their “leader,” Campbell, have performed far below “even modest expectations. ime.::and time again, "the Liberal pposition has dropped the ball, and to make matters even worse, Hansard indicates that they have voted with the governing NDP nearly 85% of. the time. The ‘North Shore Liberals can’t even seem to get their ducks in a row on such local issues as the Lions Gate Bridge! activists are lookin: for alternatives to “Gordon Campbell’s Liberals” to defeat the NDP. In fact, rumor has ic chat ..en within the Liberal orbit, MLAs such as Mr. Dalton might have to first protect their own nominations, before they even get a chance to seck re-clec- tion. Mr. Dalton’s comments are typical of the “our way or the highway” approach that the Liberals have had to fall back on in hopes of solidifying support. Over the coming months, more and more British Columbians will conclude thar the ~ Liberals are not the answer, and the search fora solution will continue. 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