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Scrap the electronics tax: Wilson

The eco-tax on electronics is a burden on Ontario families, especially around Christmas. To charge a new tax of up to $26.25 on new televisions or $21.65 on new computers is a kick in the teeth for families trying to get by. It's a clear example of how out-of-touch Dalton McGuinty has become.
We fought aggressively this past summer to get the McGuinty government
to backtrack on their costly eco-tax on over 9,000 household items like
suntan lotion, dish soap, pharmaceuticals, barbecues and concrete mix.
We won that battle and now we're going to take on the eco-tax on
electronics. Let's be clear. If Dalton McGuinty fails to get rid of
the tax, a Tim Hudak PC government will scrap it.
There isn't much reason to defend keeping such a tax grab in place.
Just look at the facts. The McGuinty government planned to have 9,994
tonnes of electronics diverted from landfills for reuse in the first
year of this program, but they only managed to divert 215.7 tonnes or 2%
of the target. Talk about a failed program.
There are practically zero results for the $44,508,436 in eco-taxes that
were collected from consumers in the first year of this program. This
tax scheme cost $2,572.30 per tonne - the most expensive in Canada. The
recovery rate for this program is also shameful. The 1.31 kg they
recover per person is the lowest in Canada. This is clearly just a
greedy tax grab that should be sent to pasture.
Dalton McGuinty seems to think that taxpayers have a near infinite
capacity to pay for every experiment that he comes up with. His
priorities are so different than the priorities of Ontario families that
he views these taxes as just a few more dollars here and a few more
dollars there and nothing much to worry about. To him, it's no big
deal.
After seven years of hikes on consumer taxes, income taxes, vehicle
taxes, hydro taxes, land taxes, electronics taxes - and even tire and
plastic bag taxes - the Ontario family budget has been stretched to the
limit. Tim Hudak and I understand that Ontario families need a chance
to catch-up.
Dalton McGuinty's expensive experiments have got to go. We need to
return to the basics and provide families with real tax relief, focus
government on the services that matter most and create good, private
sector jobs.
Tim Hudak and I know that by fixing household finances, we will fix the
finances of our great province. We can begin by ending the eco-tax on
electronics.