Given Gordon Wilson's unpredictable political positions (Liberal, PDA, now NDP,) analyzing what he would do as premier should be viewed as highly speculative (as in Bre-X). Nevertheless, there seem to be a few consistent thoughts emanating from Mr. Wilson on taxes. Unfortunately for taxpayers, "consistent" does not equal "broad-based tax cuts."

"Massive tax cuts are not necessarily the panacea that Milke would have your readers believe" wrote Mr. Wilson in the Vancouver Province, in response to my (correct) assertion that he embraced Joy MacPhail's billion dollar deficit budget and belittled broad-based tax relief. Instead, he offered (then and now) "targeted tax concessions," along with making mortgage interest payments tax deductible, and scrapping BC's machinery and equipment (M&E) tax and the corporate capital tax.

First a comment on the language: Tax "concessions" sounds an awful lot like someone who views money as government property to be "conceded" to taxpayers whenever politicians can get around to cutting us a break. The rhetoric is hardly encouraging.

In Mr. Wilson's favour, dumping the M&E and corporate capital taxes would remove one barrier to growth in BC's economy, jobs and wages. Not so good is making mortgage interest payments tax deductible. While such a move would be politically popular, it would be dumb public policy, as it would create an entitlement that no government could ever scrap. Anyone who doubts that should look south.

Besides, this is not 1980. Mortgage interest rates are not at 18% and there are better ways to reduce taxes, starting with the broad-based tax relief idea Mr. Wilson knocks. Here's why: Inflation has pushed many Canadians into higher tax brackets and a $40,000 wage-earner now pays over $1,300 more annually than they would had tax brackets been properly indexed for inflation since 1988. That same wage also hands over $460 more in taxes this year compared to 1992 because of higher payroll taxes. Broad-based tax decreases are necessary because broad-based stealth tax increases have taken place.

Perhaps Gordon Wilson doesn't like board-based tax relief for the same reason many politicians don't like it: as opposed to "targeted tax concessions," it provides no photo-ops in front of film studios or hi-tech companies. Broad-based tax relief is boring because only taxpayers get to decide where they will spend or invest that saved money. Where's the fun for politicians in that

On another tax/budget idea, Mr. Wilson proposes that BC should - in consort with the other provinces - set up a bureaucracy to replace Revenue Canada, collect both provincial and federal taxes from BC, spend what they like, and then hand back whatever is left to Ottawa as sort of a reverse transfer payment.

While placing Ottawa on a taxpayer diet is attractive, there is only one small problem with Mr. Wilson's grand scheme: BC can't collect federal taxes unless Ottawa allows it to. (BC can collect its own taxes any time it likes, if it cares to create more civil servants.)

If Mr. Wilson becomes premier, he should be forced to sit down and write "There Is Only One Taxpayer" 100 times. It does not matter whom collects BC's tax dollars. It matters how they're spent, and the members of this government have racked up deficits (i.e., overspent) for nine straight years despite positive economic growth every single year. BCers need a serious plan on how Victoria should balance the books, i.e. - its' own diet. Mr. Wilson's "plan" to get more of their taxpayer money, via Ottawa, is not it.