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Redistribution system works

Letters like this one provide great challenges. Whenever I see someone railing against “billionaires with their huge conglomerate companies, offshore accounts, subsidies and tax breaks,” it’s usually an excuse for their own inability to achieve the success they want in life in addition to not having a clue about how companies, the tax system, offshore accounts and subsidies work.

Re: “HST fight just the start,” Josh Wapp, July 15

Letters like this one provide great challenges. Whenever I see someone railing against “billionaires with their huge conglomerate companies, offshore accounts, subsidies and tax breaks,” it’s usually an excuse for their own inability to achieve the success they want in life in addition to not having a clue about how companies, the tax system, offshore accounts and subsidies work.

So what would you do Josh when you write “go even further to really affect wealth distribution?”

Would you have everyone in Canada earning the same regardless of education, drive, entrepreneurial spirit, sacrifice, creativity, intelligence, and work ethic? Facing that, what if all those people leave your country (and they do have the means to)? Then what do you do? Then whom do you tax?

Interesting statistic: according to a StatsCan study (released 2005) the top 10 per cent of earners in Canada in 2002 paid 53 per cent (up from 46 per cent in 1990) of federal income taxes. And the top 10 per cent club starts at just $64,500. It appears your wealth distribution plan is already well underway in Canada as high-income earners already pay most of the taxes.

As for the HST, notwithstanding its grossly inept implementation, if you really took the time to understand how it works you would vote it remain in force as it is a consumption tax based on value creation.

And since those billionaires you so greatly despise spend much, much more than most, they end up paying much, much more in taxes than most thereby assisting you with the wealth redistribution you so greatly desire.

Trevor Giles

Nelson