Editor:
Once again our member of Parliament John Weston is wasting our tax dollars with a new 14-page political advertiser. This politically partisan mailer, in the guise of a tax guide, tells us all the great changes that the Conservative government has made to reduce our taxes. I don't care if he wants to send out this propaganda, but don't do it with my tax dollars - do it with Conservative party money.
There are some changes that Weston failed to tell us about in his mailer. He says we will be paying less in taxes this year. While that may be true, with all the higher fees for government services and higher EI and CPP payments, many Canadians will actually bring home less pay this year.
He doesn't tell us that people who don't have access to electronically file their taxes will no longer be mailed tax forms. They say it is a waste of money and paper. But what is the cost to produce millions of his flyers, and which is a bigger waste of paper?
He also doesn't tell us they are reducing security for people who electronically file by removing the secure PIN number from returns. They will only need your SIN number and birth date, which is very easy for hackers and identity thieves to get. To do this at a time when they are trying to push through a new digital security agenda seems to be a step back.
I think that giving tax saving tips to Canadians is a wonderful idea, but it should be done by the Canadian Revenue Agency in a non-partisan format and not as a publicly-funded advertisement for the Conservative party.
Paul Keyes, Hopkins Landing
