Tories tout 15% income tax cut during Brampton campaign stop

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OTTAWA — It’s time to make the government stop punishing wage earners.

As the federal election campaign marks its second day, that was the message Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had during a campaign stop in Brampton, announcing a promise of a 15% income tax cut.

“The choice in this election is very simple — do you want a fourth Liberal mandate where they will raise your taxes and drive up your costs, or do you think it’s time to put Canadian taxpayers first for a change with a new Conservative government,” he said.

“This is a tax cut for the waitress, for the welder, for the barber. This is a tax cut for everybody who has ever got up early in the morning and worked hard to build our country. This is a tax cut that will put Canada first.”

The Tory plan promises to cut the lowest tax bracket from 15% to 12.75%, which they say would save the average Canadian worker $900 annually, and $1,800 per year for two-income families.

In contrast, Liberal Leader Mark Carney says his middle-class tax cut would save the average family around $825 per year.

Speaking to reporters from a Brampton packaging plant, Poilievre said businesses like that one have borne the brunt of the Liberal government.

“These people have done everything right, and yet during the lost Liberal decade, they’ve been punished for their hard work,” he said, citing the extraordinary increases in housing and the cost of living Canada has experienced.

“All taxes right now cost families more than they spend on food, clothing and shelter combined,” Poilievre added.

When asked how a Conservative government would afford these cuts in light of growing expenses — including the ongoing trade war with the United States — Poilievre said the details would be in their upcoming costed platform, but maintains savings can be found by eliminating wasteful programs enacted by the Trudeau Liberals.

“They’ve ballooned the bureaucracy by adding 110,000 more bureaucrats, they’ve doubled spending on outside consultants, they’ve blown billions of dollars on handouts to corporate insiders, and they’ve increased spending on foreign aid that sometimes goes to dictators, terrorists and multinational bureaucracies that don’t help people on the ground,” he said.

“Giving Liberals a fourth term will only drive debt, taxes and the cost of living higher.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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