Goodale Aide Urges Canada To Follow US Tax Cut Lead

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

23 November 2004

John McKay, an aide to Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, is urging the government to follow the tax-cutting lead of the United States, or risk seeing economic growth eroded along with the fiscal surplus.

According to the Globe and Mail, Mr McKay pointed to the tax-cutting policies that are likely to be pursued by the Bush administration in Washington in the coming years, and argued that “we simply cannot be too far behind that."

"We need to worry about productivity - otherwise, we won't go from seven surpluses to eight. We may go to our first deficit, because the economy will shrink," he warned.

However, Mr MaKay’s comments, made recently outside the House of Commons, are somewhat at odds with the tax policies of the government, outlined by both Prime Minister Paul Martin and Goodale in statements made last week.

“We all understand the importance of reducing taxes, but we're going to accomplish our program first,” Martin told reporters following a recent cabinet meeting.

Martin added that the government will first seek to fulfil its pledge to boost spending in areas such as health care before tax cuts, if possible, are considered.

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