On a lack of focus

The CP discusses one of the hidden factors in the Cons' GST plan - and points out why a cut based solely at household essentials would do much more to target relief toward the Canadians who need it:

The Conservative's GST policy - which Harper says will include another one percentage point cut in five years - will form the centrepiece of his government's budget expected in the next month or so.

That first cut to the consumption tax is estimated to carry a pricetag of about $32.3 billion over five years to federal coffers.

Yet about 17 per cent of that - more than $5 billion - won't lead to savings for families or individuals but instead will be claimed by banks, insurers, some professionals including doctors, and residential landlords, according to calculations by Toronto tax lawyer David Robertson.

The article includes some debate as to whether or not any of those savings will be passed on to consumers dealing with the businesses in question. But even if a few of those dollars to find their way back, it's hard to see much efficiency in a tax scheme supposedly targeted toward the average Canadian which instead hands a billion dollars annually to businesses in the vague hope that consumers will benefit in the long run.