-- CTF Says Debt and Wasteful Spending Cause High Taxes, Not Health Care and Education --

OTTAWA: Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Federal Director Walter Robinson reacted today to comments by the Prime Minster to the effect that Canadians who don't like high taxes can always move to the United States. These comments appear in today's Globe and Mail and National Post.

"The Prime Minister's (PM) dismissal of our high tax crisis is condescending and arrogant," stated Robinson. "The PM is totally out of touch with the majority of Canadians on the issue of taxes."

"What he says about health care and education costs explaining away the difference between Canadian and American tax levels is simply not true," added Robinson pointing to OECD figures to justify his statement.

According to the latest figures available from the OECD, total government spending in Canada is 43.5% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and 31.9% in the United States. Canada spends 6.4% of its GDP on public health care and 2.9% on private health care. The Americans spend 6.5% of their GDP on public health care and 7.5% on private health care.

"Health care costs do not explain away our high tax levels. And when it comes to education, the PM should compare state funded universities to comparable Canadian institutions instead of private universities stateside to public Canadian universities," stated Robinson.

"The real reason why our taxes are higher is our debt and wasteful spending. Twenty-seven cents of each tax dollar goes to pay debt interest and we still waste billions of dollars each year on corporate welfare, millennium parties and failed regional development schemes," concluded Robinson. "The PM chooses to ignores these facts, which is, sadly, par for the course."