NEWS RELEASE
April 18, 1996 For Immediate Release
FINALLY, A TAX FORM THAT TELLS GOVERNMENT HOW YOU WANT YOUR TAXES SPENT
"Tax returns are due April 30th. Now you can send them "The People's Tax Form."
Yorkton - During the last day of debate of the federal government's budget, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, asked the Liberals some very important questions. "How many Canadians would be willing to walk into a department store at the end of every month, slap down a five hundred dollar cheque and let the clerk decide what to bring the customer for his or her money?" asked Breitkreuz. "People expect to have a real choice of what they get for their hard-earned wages when they go to the store, shouldn't they have choice of what they get from their government? I think it's time to change the system and bring back democracy to the way government spends your money."
Today Breitkreuz gave Canadians "The People's Tax Form" so all taxpayers have an opportunity to tell the Liberal Government exactly where they want their money to go. "Tax relief will never happen unless taxpayers can tell government how they want and don't want their money spent. Politicians and bureaucrats forget that it's not their money they handle but the money given to them in trust by the workers of Canada."
"Canadians are tired of filling out tax forms that focus simply on the collection of their hard-earned money. They want a form that allows them to direct where their money will be spent. Why? Because it's their money. It doesn't belong to the politicians and bureaucrats. It's about time we changed the system and practised democracy. Unless we change the tax system we'll never bring our spending under control," predicted Breitkreuz.
"Special interest groups, big corporations and lobbyists have been able to hijack the agenda and persuade politicians to give them tax dollars and implement programs that most people do not feel are priorities. It's obvious people want politicians to cut grants and handouts to special interest groups and corporations and preserve funding for pensions, health care and law and order, but somehow the Liberal government doesn't seem to be getting the message," said Breitkreuz.
Breitkreuz tested "The People's Tax Form" in his own constituency. "I have over 500 People's Tax Forms returned to me from my own constituents and the response has been so positive, I wanted to see how other Canadians would react to it," said Breitkreuz (See sample of "The People's Tax Form" attached). We have analyzed over 350 responses so far and here is what my constituents are telling me."
Government Programs Most Strongly Supported by my Constituents (in order of priority):
Government Programs Most Strongly Opposed by my Constituents (in order of priority):
"I am working on a Private Member's Bill which would implement "The People's Tax Form". The form could be sent to Revenue Canada with your income tax returns to tell the government how you want your hard-earned tax dollars spent. The form could also be used by taxpayers to tell the government which programs you do not want your money going to," reported Breitkreuz. "In the meantime, I invite all taxpayers to send me their form and I'll make sure to hand-deliver them to Finance Minister Paul Martin."
"Our tax system focuses only on collecting money from the people without allowing them a say in how it's spent. The current system rewards lobbyists, special interest groups and large corporations who make big donations to the Liberal Party, not the people who pay the bills. Why should people be forced to support government programs and activities they don't believe in? "The People's Tax Form" give Canadians a chance to make their priorities the government's priorities. I believe the role of government in a free and democratic society is to carry out the will of the people and my new tax form is the first step in that direction," concluded Breitkreuz.
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For your personal copy of "The People's Tax Form" please call:
Yorkton: (306) 782-3309
Ottawa: (613) 992-4394
REVISED RESULTS ON TEST OF "THE PEOPLE'S TAX FORM"
by Garry Breitkreuz, MP (Yorkton-Melville)
Note: 531 forms analyzed as of April 18, 1996
Government Programs Most Strongly Supported by my Constituents (in order of priority):
Government Programs Most Strongly Opposed by my Constituents (in order of priority):