|
NDP
finance critic Thomas Mulcair said the Tories are trying
to goad his party into supporting the bill, which also
offers $6-billion in annual tax cuts for corporations -
reductions that the New Democrats resolutely oppose.
"He's
full of prunes," Mr. Mulcair said of Mr. Flaherty.
"He's trying to intimidate us."
Yesterday,
Mr. Flaherty stood in the foyer of the Commons and said
that NDP intransigence could frustrate plans for retailers
to trim the tax.
"Now
we have the NDP blocking progress of the bill right now in
the House of Commons. That does put into jeopardy the GST
cut and this is not a good time for that," Mr.
Flaherty warned yesterday.
"The
NDP is trying to deny this tax deduction for
Canadians."
But
it's not clear exactly what could hold up the cut.
Parliamentary
tradition doesn't require that underlying legislation be
passed before a tax cut takes effect.
Long-established
protocol in Ottawa allows the Canada Revenue Agency to
administer proposed tax cuts as if they were law as soon
as a document called a ways and means motion is tabled in
the Commons - and this was done last month.
Mr.
Flaherty's office later said that the minister was trying
to say that retailers may not feel comfortable cutting the
GST to 5 per cent if the legislation isn't passed.
But
the Retail Council of Canada said members will be ready to
cut the GST on Jan. 1. Its members account for two-thirds
of general merchandise retail sales and have 40,000
outlets across Canada.
"Retailers
successfully implemented the last GST cut and will be
ready, come Jan. 1, 2008, to do it again," said Kim
Furlong, vice-president of federal government relations at
the Retail Council of Canada.
The
House of Commons is scheduled to rise Friday and isn't due
back to consider legislation again until Jan. 28. The
legislation in question, C-28, was introduced in the
Commons on Nov. 21, but is now at third reading. It must
still go to the Senate and be passed there before it
receives royal assent.
Source
: Globe and Mail - Canada, dated 12/12/2007
|
