Would they change the meters if the GST went up?

May 12 - The Ontario government just passed the budget which included a provision increasing the terms for Toronto elected officials from 3 to 4 years. (It's disturbing that the budget included this provision and even more disturbing that the province could do this without even consulting the people of Toronto; in most if not all U.S. cities such a civic matter would be on a city ballot but what can I say? The amagamation of Toronto was also ordered by the provincial government. Centralized authority is a fact of life up here.)

Meanwhile, the minority Conservative federal government is honouring an election promise to reduce the Goods and Services Tax. It's going down by 1%, bringing the federal tax down to 6% (the provincial tax stays at 8%) (yes, people in Ontario pay 15% tax) but now it has been suggested that Cabbies could keep GST cut:

Councillor Howard Moscoe said yesterday that cabbies will have to pay $35 to have taxi meters adjusted to reflect the cut, which kicks in July 1.

They will also lose half a day of work while the meters are reset, he said.

"It just makes sense to leave the meter rates as they are," Moscoe said. "There are going to be those who argue that we're denying people their GST rebate, but in this case, it's not practical to do."

The issue of raising fares to offset the tax cut will be dealt with at next month's meeting of the city's planning and transportation committee. The city sets cab fares in Toronto.

Moscoe noted that the Toronto Parking Authority has already determined it will not pass the GST break on to its customers.

I don't think it makes sense (I mean the part about the cabbies. The Toronto Parking Authority will pocket the extra money and smugly congratulate themselves.)

Surely had the federal government increased the GST the cabbies (and whoever services parking ticket machines) would have found the means to adjust the meters! And isn't the cost for adjusting the meters tax deductible?

Also, why do they need to raise cab fares to offset the tax cut -- the taxes are paid directly to the federal government and are not income.

This city is one weird place.

I have to be back at work at 3:30 this afternoon, so be sure to log onto Newsbeat1 regularly for news and pundit links.

Posted by: Debbye at 07:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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