Promises, promises: NDP sneak attack!

Wow! Who expected the NDP to score a pro-business point in this campaign derby? Talk about coming out of left field!

The New Democratic Party (NDP) has rolled out its tax plan, promising to cut the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%, saying the move would not only create jobs but also create the kind of jobs that aren’t likely to be exported.

And the NDP isn’t stopping there; it’s taking a page out of the Conservative playbook, and expanding on it. Remember Tuesday’s Conservative promise of a $1,000 job creation tax credit for small businesses? The NDP is upping that bid to $4,500, per new hire.

How do the New Democrats plan to pay for these measures? Here they play to their core: they’re rolling back the corporate income tax cut. But they’re also promising to enact a peg of sorts, to ensure that the corporate income tax rate is always lower than that in the U.S.

Get this, there’s more!

The NDP is also promising to extend the Accelerated Capital Costs Allowance for the next four years.

That kinda steals the thunder of the Conservative offer du jour: extending the Accelerated Capital Costs Allowance for the next two years.

The Liberals rolled out their appeal to retirees today, promising to increase GIS benefits to the tune of $700 million a year, and to work with provinces to gradually expand Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits while creating a new voluntary Secure Retirement Option, which would allow tax-deductible savings managed by the CPP.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff couldn’t help but take a swipe at “the banks and insurance companies on Bay Street” in announcing his counter-policy to the Conservative pooled registered pension plan.

And capping the whole thing off, they’re promising to create a Stranded Pension Agency, which would protect long-term disability benefits in the event of corporate bankruptcies.

Final analysis: Sure, the Liberals tackled retirement savings, but you’ve gotta hand it to the NDP on this one. It took two Conservative offerings, put them on steroids and threw in a small business tax cut.

In a rare turn of events, the Conservatives were left flat-footed.

Staff

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