(Quebec) Promises of refunds to taxpayers hit hard by cost-of-living increases came quickly. From day 2 of his campaign on Monday, Liberal leader Dominic Anglehead has pledged to cut 3.8 billion in taxes if he is brought into power. It achieves this by paying off the rich in particular.
Posted at 8:45 am.
The measures in his “portfolio plan” are already well known: they were revealed when he unveiled his election platform this spring.
The Liberal Party calculates that a family with two children will receive an average of $5,000.
Dominic Anglade wants to cut the top two tax brackets by 1.5 percentage points ($46,295 and under, and over $46,295 and under $92,580). This could mean a tax cut of up to $1,125 per year. He promises to scrap QST on basic necessities (soap, shampoo, toothbrush, over-the-counter medicines). He wants Hydro-Québec to freeze rates and take the first $4,000 of electricity bills. Solidarity tax credit for the most disadvantaged people will be enhanced.
The PLQ warns that another billion in relief will be announced later in the campaign, including creating an annual allowance of up to $2,000 for those aged 70 and over.
On Sunday, Dominic Anglehead argued that the measures would not come at the cost of a bigger deficit or austerity policies.
“When we say we’re going to put money back into the pockets of middle-class Quebecers, is is going to be found elsewhere, especially in tax havens, especially in large corporations, where the rich will have to pay a certain amount,″ he said on Sunday.
According to the Liberal platform, a new, higher tax bracket would be created for people making more than $300,000.