The GST tables have been turned on the Liberals.
They won power 12 years ago promising to eliminate it and have suddenly been transformed into champions of the unpopular consumption tax.
Prime Minister Paul Martin was flooded with questions today about a Conservative plan to slash the goods and services tax to five per cent from seven per cent — and he repeatedly defended the levy.
“I don’t believe that is the path to follow,” he said of the Tory plan.
“Canadians have been down this road before. They’ve heard this story.”
They heard it in 1993 — when Martin himself co-authored the Liberal red book that promised to scrap the tax. The Liberals backed away from the promise once they took office, and now find themselves swapping roles with the Tories.
Martin says he will focus on the Liberal aim to reduce personal and corporate income taxes by $30 billion over six years, a plan he called more equitable than the Tory one.
The Conservatives also plan to lower personal taxes and corporate taxes. The GST announcement is only one part of their intended tax plan, party officials say. Source.
