• Conservatives commit to lower, simpler and flatter income tax system
• Conservatives, Greens and Refederation commit to legislated debt reduction plan
• Greens commit to eliminating health care tax
• Conservatives commit to eliminating carbon tax with no replacement tax
• All parties fudge on corporate welfare

VANCOUVER: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released the results of a six-question survey sent to five political parties running in the 2009 provincial election.

Each party was given an opportunity to provide a written response to six questions:

1. Will your party commit to simplifying and flattening the tax system in British Columbia by decreasing the number of tax brackets from the current five to two?
2. Will your party commit to legislating a debt reduction plan? 
3. Will your party commit to eliminating the Health Care Premium? 
4. Will your party commit to eliminating the carbon tax? 
5. Will your party commit to eliminating corporate welfare.
6. If your party is elected, and could make but one achievement, what would it be?

"Neither the Liberals nor the NDP view tax simplification as a way to promote working, saving and investing to stimulate the economy," said Maureen Bader, BC Director of the CTF. "This opens a door of opportunity for parties and candidates promising fiscal responsibility and the elimination of government social engineering schemes."

"B.C. taxpayers fund the debt to the tune of $6-million per day, but only the Conservatives, Greens and Refederation have committed to a legislated debt reduction plan," said Bader. "While it's true the current government broke its own balanced-budget law, it did at one point achieve a surplus and in the same way, a legislated debt reduction plan would put the steps in place to achieve debt reduction and ultimately, debt elimination."

B.C. is only one of two provinces left in Canada with a health care tax and will continue to have one no matter which of the two major parties wins. B.C. is also only one of two provinces in Canada with a carbon tax, however only the Conservatives committed to eliminate the tax without any subsequent replacement tax.

"Both the health and carbon tax are additional costs to families, don't pay for the health care system or do much if anything about carbon dioxide emissions," said Bader. "These two taxes are nothing more than tax grabs and must be eliminated, and not replaced with some other tax grab either."

The full written responses from each party may be viewed here.