Can Manitoba afford to cut taxes Government ministers and spin-doctors say NO. They claim we need a "balanced approach," which is probably code for doing nothing.

This so-called "balanced approach" has Manitobans paying the highest income taxes in Western Canada.

Naysayers would have you believe that tax cuts would swell the debt or require major reductions to healthcare and education. Fair enough, if you want to completely put the kibosh on the tax cut debate and prey upon people's emotions. But those arguments aren't very sound for the following reasons:

1. Over the long term, tax cuts help pay for themselves by creating a stronger economy that generates more (not less) tax revenue. This is being demonstrated time and again in provinces where taxes have been cut (it was no accident that Alberta grew its population by 54,000 people last year). Once the spark of lower taxes ignites, the wheel of prosperity begins to spin generating new jobs, increased business activity, and more tax revenue government needs to pay its bills and provide services

2. The second reason we can afford tax cuts is that we can reduce debt costs by selling surplus government assets. The government's empire of Crown-owned enterprises is worth millions of dollars. Cash from the sale of some of these assets would pay down the debt and vastly improve out fiscal situation. Furthermore, the influx of private investment into the Manitoba economy would stimulate job creation, economic growth, and (you guessed it!) more tax revenue.

3. We must become more competitive with our neighbors. Alberta continues to lower taxes, but so is Saskatchewan. Manitoba has the highest income tax burden west of Ontario, and when Saskatchewan, a province similar to Manitoba in many ways, has a more competitive tax regime we will continue to fall behind and shrink the tax base.

Okay, I will concede that we will never be Alberta, but we should at least be within spitting distance of Saskatchewan! While the government is patting themselves on the back for all of the paltry tax cuts they have so graciously bestowed upon us, Manitobans will be waving goodbye to their kids as they pull up stakes for cities like Saskatoon and Calgary.

For those that claim the provincial government can't "afford" tax cuts I offer this - whose money is it anyway When I work to earn $100, do those $100 belong to me first, with three levels of government then taking $49 away from me Or do politicians and bureaucrats have an inherent right to the $100, of which they kindly allow me to keep $51 All wealth does not belong to the government and politicians don't have an inherent right to worker's wages. In light of the fact that the average Canadian in 2002 worked from January 1 to June 27 to support three levels of government, taxpayers are the ones who can't "afford" to feed the appetites of greedy governments.

So can Manitoba afford to cut taxes - we can't afford not to.