Letter to the editor: Liberals propose health benefits tax

Dear Editor,Justin Trudeau's Liberals are eyeing a new tax on employer-sponsored extended health benefits as a new source of revenue to offset uncontrolled over-spending in Ottawa. Despite promising to balance Canada’s budget by 2019, Finance Canada now says it won't achieve balance until 2055. Projections show Canada’s debt will reach an astounding $1.5 trillion by 2045.We know the only way the government can pay this debt back is by raising your taxes. The Trudeau Liberals have already announced a CPP tax hike and a massive carbon tax, and cancelled or clawed-back tax credits for families, students and small businesses. Meanwhile, the Finance Minister has made it clear he’ll be looking to eliminate even more tax credits in preparation for Budget 2017, including employer-paid extended health care plans that benefit millions of Canadian workers and their familiesThese plans provide coverage for things such as prescription drugs, vision, dental, physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment. Without this tax benefit, many small- and medium-sized businesses will eliminate or scale back extended health benefits offered to their employees.The tax changes your federal government is considering will mean less coverage for workers and their families, greater reliance on our stressed public healthcare system and a less-productive and healthy workforce.Canadians can expect that I, along with my Conservative colleagues in Parliament, will actively oppose these healthcare tax hikes and demand that the Prime Minister stop his wild-spending ways. ‎You and I have to properly manage our finances. Why shouldn't he?Sincerely,The Hon. Ed Fast, PC, QCMember of Parliament (Abbotsford)Official Opposition Critic for the Environment and Climate Change