By GRANT MacNEIL

“If you are a wage or salary
earner, the Carter Report is
for you.”

This point was made con-
vincingly by John Fryer, Re-
search Director, Canadian La-
bour Congress, in an analysis
of the brand-new tax struc-

ture proposed by the Royal.

Commission on Taxation
(Carter Report) presented to
representatives of the Van-
couver Island Labour Coun-
cils, Parksville, June 2nd.

He described the 2600-page
document, which took almost
5 years to prepare, as one that
was “conceived by the Con-
servatives, delivered to the
Liberals and now adopted by
the NDP.”

STRONG INDICTMENT

The report is a strong in-
dictment of the present sys-
tem of taxation, the speaker
said, because it does not pro-
vide fair treatment for all
Canadians.

People in essentially similar
circumstances do not pay the
same taxes. People in essen-
tially different circumstances
do not bear appropriately dif-
ferent tax burdens, he said.

“Having found the present
system of taxation to be un-
fair the Commissioners de-
vised a completely new system
of taxation for Canada, based
on the principles of ability to
pay and fairness.”

EQUITABLE SYSTEM ~
~ The report provides for a
more equitable system which

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

would raise more revenue
and plug many of the escape
holes for big business in the
existing tax laws.

The Commission recom-
mended that the base for tax-
ation purposes should be the
family unit rather than the
individual. Tax credits or de-
ductions would be provided

for those with heavy family
obligations.

FAIRER TAX BASE

The proposed “comprehen-
sive tax base” has been de-
scribed as “a buck-is-a-buck”
approach. The Commission in
outlining a fairer base for
taxation said, “We do not be-
lieve that it matters, from the
point of view of taxation,
whether the taxpayer earned
his income through working,
gained it through operating
a business, received it because

he held property, or was given
it by a relative.

From the standpoint of the
worker, the adoption of the
Report in its entirety would
mean:

Families with incomes of
less than $5,000 a year would
contribute 10% less than they
do now in total federal taxes.

Families with incomes of
between $5,000 and $7,000
would contribute 7% less.

Strong exception was taken
by the mining and oil inter-
ests to the section of the re-
port which recommends can-
cellation of the three-year tax
exemption and depletion al-
lowances. Ottawa was imme-
diately invaded by a horde of

ELECTION NOTICE

EXCERPT FROM CANADA ELECTIONS ACT:
TIME TO EMPLOYEES FOR VOTING

47. (1) Every employee who is a qualified elector
shall, while the polls are open on polling day at an elec-
tion, have three consecutive hours for the purpose of cast-
ing his vote; and if the hours of his employment do not
allow for such three consecutive hours, his employer shall
allow him such additional time for voting as may be neces-
sary to provide the said three consecutive hours; no em-
ployer shall make any deduction from the pay of any
such employee nor impose upon or exact from him any
penalty by reason of absence from his work during such
consecutive hours; the additional time for voting above
referred to shall be granted at the convenience of the

employer.

(2) This section extends to railway companies and’
their employees, except such employees as are actually
engaged in the running of trains and to whom such time
cannot be allowed without interfering with the manning

of the trains.

(3) Any employer who, directly or indirectly, re-
fuses, or by intimidation, undue influence, or in any
other way, interferes with the granting to any elector in
his employ, of the consecutive hours for voting, as in this
section provided, is guilty of an illegal practice and of
an offence against this Act punishable on summary con-
viction as provided in this Act.

| HANEY BUSINESS GUIDE

ESQUIRE MEN’S WEAR

(Graham Mowatt)

Complete Stock of Work and Dress Clothing
“THE STORE WITH THE POPULAR BRANDS”

HANEY

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ee ne uke HE Se ee

"THE CARTER REPORT IS FOR YOU"-

lobbyists. It is estimated that
these interests spent $250,000
to defeat adoption of the re-
port. A short time later the
Government made an under-
taking not to change the
methods of taxation for these
interests until 1974. Taxation
loopholes for such companies
as Imperial Oil, Cominco, etc.
will be continued while a
greater tax burden is im-
posed on wage-earners.

Among other enterprises
working to defeat the report
are the financial and insur-
ance companies,

EXCEPTION TAKEN

The Commission estimated
that adoption of its proposals
would result in financial in-
stitutions, including insurance
companies, on the 1964 basis,
paying $75,000,000 in taxes,
instead of only the $2,000,000
paid.

A fundamental change pro-
posed by the Commission is
the introduction of a capital
gains tax. Canada is one of a

very few countries without
such a tax.

SAME POWER

The Commission said, “A
dollar gained through the
sale of a share, bond, or piece
of. real property bestows the
same economic power as a
dollar gained through em-
ployment or operating a busi-
ness, The equity principles we
hold dictate that both should
be taxed in exactly the same
way. To tax the gain on the
disposal of property more
lightly than other kinds of

ARCHIBALD,
SMITH ILL

Regional safety director
Andy Smith and Alec Archi-
bald, executive board mem-
ber and business agent of
Local 1-357, both recently suf-
fered heart attacks and are
hospitalized in the Royal Co-
lumbian Hospital, New West-
minster.

The latest report on them
is that both are coming along
well although it is expected
that it will be some time be-
fore they are back on the job.

Officers of the Regional
Council and their many
friends wish them a speedy
recovery.

eet US pare Si AER Be

ae
=

gains or not at all would be
grossly unfair.” Many with
large incomes derived from
speculation do not pay any
income tax. ;

The Commission proposed
realistic lifetime exemptions
of $25,000 on gains made from
the sale of farms and homes.

Money from bequests and
gifts should be treated the
same way said the Commis-
sion, though transfers within
the family unit would not be
taxable.

This would increase govern-
ment revenue from about
$140,000,000 to about $350,-
000,000.

An integral part of the
Commission’s proposal to tax
capital gains is the proposal to
integrate personal and cor-
porate income taxes. The top
personal income tax rate
would be reduced and the
existing 20% dividend tax
credit would be abolished.

CLC SUBMISSION

The Canadian Labour Con-
gress in its submission to the
Government said, “At the
present time corporation taxes
are passed on to the consumer
in basically two ways, either
by an immediate increase in
product prices or through a
more gradual increase in
product prices resulting from
reduced capital spending and
lower levels of output.”

The report provides for an
averaging of income over a
number of years, A person
who retires and experiences a
sharp decline in income would
be eligible for a large refund

and Northern Interior.

requests,

SECOND COMMITTEE
TO WORK IN INTERIOR

An additional “Industry Committee” will be tempor-
arily put into the field to deal with all presently pending
plywood job evaluation requests in both the Southern

This Committee — consisting of Mr. F. G. Fredrickson
of Forest Industrial Relations Ltd. and Tony Vander-
heide of The Regional Council — will commence its
duties some time this month in order to alleviate the
pressure on the permanent “Industry Committee” due
to the present backlog in coastal plywood job evaluation

of taxes paid in his last few
working years.

LOGGERS’ NEEDS
RECOGNIZED

A new proposal made by
the Commission is the exten-
sion to employees of the right
to make deductions for certain
expenses incurred in earning
their living. This has been a
privilege extended only .
business and professiona
people.

Loggers, for instance, have
hitherto been granted no ex-
emptions for the drains on
their income due to the special
conditions of their employ-
ment.

The Commission also makes
proposals to eliminate the
evils of expense account liv-
ing.

The Carter Report has been
made an issue in the current
election campaign by Tommy
Douglas. He said that the
NDP would not support any
minority government unless it
agreed to implement the Car-
ter Report.

ABOLISH STRUCTURE

The Carter Report, if im-
plemented, would abolish a
tax structure which places a
disproportionately large share
of the nation’s tax burden on
working people. Such a state
of affairs, said the Canadian
Labour Congress, is both in-
tolerable and unjust.

Now is the time to query
all candidates as to their atti-
tudes toward tax reform as

proposed by the Carter Com-
mission,