rene foe 6 ~ Wednesday, Jaue 28, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS It’s 'S high time for the cow to bellow and kick! WITH 18 MONTHS STILL TO GO before it takes effect, the new nine per cent federal sales tax does not yet rob most folk of sleep. But if you aim to live Jonger than 18 months, don’t shrug it off lightly... The tax can be likened to an in- dexed pension plan — designed to maintain indefinitely the Mulroney government's own comfort and standard of living, with the rest of , us paying the ever increasing premiums. The present hidden (and not en- tirely universal) manufacturers’ sales tax is now 13 per cent — but don't hold your Ereath waiting for manufacturers to pass on their four per cent savings to con- sumers. There’s nothing to force them to do so. Meanwhile, the new tax will ap- ply not only to virtually ALL goods except food, but to SER- VICES as well. After January 1991 almost every dollar you spend on products other than groceries will have Finance Minister Michael Wilson's nine per cent PLUS the six per cent B.C. sales tax slapped on top of it. And don’t call that a total of 15 per cent. It's far likelier MICHAEL Wilson from the milking barr. .. message that happy manufacturers will keep it a total of 21-22 per cent. In addition, you'll then also be pay- ing nine per cent extra for the labors of your car mechanic, your TV repair man and your hair sty- list. That’s only the beginning, how- ever. In effect, the new federal sales tax is a blank cheque to cover Ot- tawa’s reluctance to attack its $31.5 billion deficit with mean- ingful spending cuts of its own. Possibilities for economizing abound in the billions still being squandered on sacred cows like of- ficial bilingualism, handouts to big business and spccial-interest groups, donations to Third World basket cases and vastly over- bloated federal bureaucracy. But the Mulroneyites don’t want to hear such blasphemies. Their thoughts on the deficit are almost entirely confined to fresh ways of billing the taxpayers. For this purpose, the new sales tax is perfect. Contrary to Michael Wilson's earlier assurances, it now emerges that the tax may, in fact, often be hidcen (he blames the provinces for refusing to integrate it with their cwn sales taxes). So the stage is set for step-by-step in- creases that consumers may not readily detect right away at the cash register. Whenever Ottawa needs more cash, simply milk another percentage point from the consumer cow — 10 per cent in 1992, !1 per cent in 1993, 12 per cent in 1994, it will be that simple. It’s high time right now for the cow to bellow and kick out at its milker. Its messages to Mr, Wilson should be toud and clear: No new taxation — especially not this Parks for the people ILEASHED DOGS should not be tolerated in North Vancouver’s jewel in the park crown. The district is seriously considering the al- open-ended, regressive sales tax — until the government drastically slashes its own lavish spending. kak POSTSCRIPTS: New 1989-90 president of West Van Legion Branch 60 is Jean Coull (as I’ve told you before, it’s Ladies Year for presidents!). Her Ist and 2nd veepees are Mel Oughton and Dick Lyle, with Norris Spence as trea- surer. Peter Cherry is now im- mediate past-prez... Last call for beauty-’n-brains entrants in Gertie Todd's 39th Miss North Shore Pageant — deadline is Saturday, July | and entry forms can be had at The Perfect Setting, 124 West ye 4 navn ae 16th, North Van and Eaton's Park Royal beauty shop... Lady Luck beamed $100 smiles this month on North Van's Robert Kittson, West Van’s J. Cain and Ruth Holst, three recent winners in the 14th Seniors Lottery... Named to the volunteer position of Provincial Search and Rescue coordinator is Cap College staffer Dave Brewer... And a special Diamond Year greet- ing to North Van’s adventurous Gordon and Marion MacNaughton — 83 and 79 years of age respec- tively and residents of New Brunswick for nearly six decades — who finally arrived here in Lotus Land last fall and tomor- tow, June 29, celebrate their 60th anniversary. Welcome and con- gratulations, Gordon and Marion! eet WRIGHT OR WRONG: If the chair gets up when you do, it's summer. Photo submitted YOUNG MASTERS...Grade 12 St. Thomas Aquinas art students Arnel Laureta and Raffaele Panzetta with some of their work exhibited this month at the school’s first major art show. TE NEAT GREEN... Tee peo DRIED OUT... wlHE th SNL KE SHWATER... THATS THE ONE SHE TO THIS STRIKE... THE FOODS IMPROVED. POOTIVE lowance of year-round unleashed dog access to a por- tion of Cates Park. As the matter stands, dogs are permitted on leash in the waterfront park Oct. 1 to April 15. But increasingly, the park is becoming a favored recreation area for the many families with young children moving into the rapidly growing com- munity. The park is also a popular and convenient area for dog owners who believe they have a right to the space for their dogs to run about and do their business. There is a conflicting vision of how the park might reasonably be used. In the ideal world, dogs and children and dogs and park trails are good and wholesome combinations. But the reality of the matter is different. Not all dog owners exercise responsible control over their dogs. Not ali dog owners pick up the inevitable fecal packages left behind. There are other options in the area for those with dogs. Wickenden Park and a portion of Myrtle Park have already been designated as parks where dogs are permitted on leash. Indian River Drive, Baden-Powel! Trail and Pipe Line Road are designated areas where dogs are permitted without leash. Keep Cates Park a People park during the peak summer period. Peter Speck Managing Editor... . Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Directur . Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 18 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mai! Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. Mailing fates available on request. Submissions ate welcome but we cannot accept responsibility for tnsolicited material inciuding manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envel Publisher SUNDAY + WEDNESOAY + FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. 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