By Trevor Parry, M.A., LL.B,LL.M (Tax), TEP

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

I am always concerned when a Federal government starts thinking of the Province of Quebec as a policy innovator.  Certainly the left exalts their cheap daycare, made possible by an utterly punishing tax burden on business and individuals.  Well, it should be no great surprise that the Boy King and his fellow trust fund alumnus, LSE grad Bill Morneau have started to embrace “revenue measures” quite popular in La Belle Province.

Taxing private medical and benefit plans

The latest trial balloon is to make private medical and benefit plans a taxable benefit.  This would mean that most Canadians who have dental and pharmaceutical coverage provided as part of their employer compensation would start seeing these benefits taxed as income.

Of course, the middle class:  that amorphous group that the kumbaya chorus known as the federal Liberal Party claims to represent would feel the pinch most acutely.  If your group plan costs $6,000 per year you can now look forward to having the Little Prince confiscate just over $2,000 from you.  If you are unfortunately part of the class enemy known as the 1% then count on $3,000 or more being forked over.   One can assume that the bedrock of the Liberal Party, that is the civil service, would somehow be spared from this tax measure.

The rationale for this policy innovation is of course the grand and lofty goal of egalitarianism.  The homeless and downtrodden don’t have these plans so once again we must measure all policy according to the lowest common denominator.  The fact that these individuals, if they care to check into the medical system are completely covered is irrelevant in the Fabian Socialist society (a.k.a LPC).

Unfortunately too many Canadians, fed a steady diet of Liberal sycophancy from the Canadian media believe that Justin and the Liberals are champions of the little guy.  There has been no bolt of lightning that jars into accepting the reality that the LPC is the part of oligopolies, banks, insurance companies, Bombardier and the law and accounting firms that service them.    It is also lost upon them that the general health of the population should be given at least equal weight as mandated equality of results. Continue Reading…