The Harper government can no longer pretend they are not raising taxes in light of a report today that estimates their Employment Insurance premium hikes will kill jobs and lower wages, Liberal Finance Critic John McCallum said.
A report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business states that the Conservatives’ planned EI tax hike will kill 200,000 jobs and cause an average worker’s wage to drop 1.5 percent.
“The Conservative government has falsely styled themselves as tax-cutters when the truth is that they snuck this tax hike in through the back door and hoped no one would notice,” said Mr. McCallum. “If Canadians had any doubts about the effects of this government’s hidden agenda before, they certainly don’t now.”
Mr. McCallum pointed out that because the government has the authority to raise EI premiums without a vote in the House of Commons, it is the tax hike of choice for Conservative MPs. Although they continue to refuse to admit to this increase, the revenues they will collect from the extras premiums have already been booked into the budgetary framework.
“The same Conservatives who shut down Parliament have found a sneaky way to hike your taxes without the need to stand and vote for it on the floor of the House of Commons,” said Mr. McCallum.
“While the Liberal Party is looking at ways to create jobs and reduce EI premiums – particularly for companies that hire young workers – the Conservative Party is raising taxes and killing jobs.”
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated that premium hikes will eventually take in an extra $6.3 billion a year, more than a full point hike in the GST.
