On fairer shares

I'd take some time to rebut the Leader-Post editorial board's odd claim that the only way to share the proceeds of Saskatchewan's economy is by slashing public revenue through another set of tax giveaways. But instead, I'll simply point to what I wrote not long ago about "off the tax rolls" rhetoric, and note that it applies equally to other policies which can be spun as general tax reductions while having highly regressive effects:

(A)n increase in the basic personal exemption gives as much to a millionaire as to an individual making only the new exemption amount - meaning that such a policy is anything but a targeted measure to help the working poor. And the only people who don't benefit in the slightest are those who already make less than the current personal exemption amount.

At the same time, the revenue cut by reducing taxes only on those above the current personal exemption also reduces a government's fiscal capacity to help the citizens who need it most. In other words, even the initial policies that result in lower-end earners paying no income taxes might prove regressive in their application.