Legault government Treasury Secretary Eric Girard defended his campaign-pledged tax cuts expected to come from the generational fund in the next budget on Monday afternoon in Montreal.
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“Tax cuts are not fair for people over 50. It is for all workers in Quebec. In Quebec, 4.6 million people pay income taxes. There are people in there who belong to the younger generation, 18 years old, 22 years old, 24 years old,” said the minister on the sidelines of a speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
Last Saturday, the Journal’s columnist Michel Girard denounced the fact that the $7.4 billion tax cut would be funded by a reduction in generation fund payments to the detriment of future generations.
However, according to Eric Girard, the pros outweigh the cons.
Drops for young people
In his opinion, young people who are also active in the labor market can also benefit from these tax cuts.
“All Quebecers need it because we are the most heavily taxed society in North America. We want to encourage the work,” he explained.
Putting less money into the generation fund will not inflate the debt unnecessarily, according to the finance minister.
“We’re going to cap it at $3.2 billion so we can fund the tax cut,” he continued.
Eric Girard notes that the difference between $3 billion in the Generations Fund and $5 billion is 1% of net debt to GDP.
“I’m ready to lead the debate,” he concluded, but showed frankness.
Furious Youth Force
On Monday, following the minister’s departure, Simon Telles, president of Force Jeunesse, which helped found the Generations Fund, fell from his chair.
“This is the worst operation that the minister could have made,” he lamented in an interview with the “Journal”.
“If we had been told that it was about fighting climate change or investing in education, those would at least have been good vocations for future generations,” he sighed.
In the newspaper, Simon Telles recalled that the income that feeds the generational fund comes from the exploitation of our natural resources.
“The aim of the fund is to spread the profits across all generations,” he emphasized.
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