Majeres' Musings

Well a 10 billion surplus eh.

1 billion to compensate those busted illegally by a null and void law.

1 billion to lower Corp Taxes - they create jobs and R & D.

2 billion to lower the lowest tier tax rate percentage to help the less fortunate.

The remaining 6 billion to pay down debt.

Sounds reasonable to me.

So Harpers' going to just put it all against the debt.  Can't blame him, its a bold move that I would consider considering the state of the economy.  The downside of course is all those screaming poeple like me who could use an extra hundred or two that is not declared as income.

snipp>

OTTAWA -- The federal government is expected to unveil today a budget surplus in the $9-billion to $10-billion range, marking the 10th-consecutive year Ottawa took in more tax revenue than it paid out.

The surplus, accumulated for the 12-month period ended March 31, will be used to pay down the debt. The payment would bring the debt to roughly $467-billion, down from its peak of $562.8-billion in 1996-97.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will be in Toronto this morning to release the final numbers, sources say. But economists and sources said they expect the surplus to be in the $9-billion to $10-billion ballpark. This is largely based on data already released by the Department of Finance.

This is slightly above the $9.2-billion projection in the 2007 federal budget, but well above the $3.6-billion forecast in the 2006 budget.

At roughly $9.7-billion, the 2006-07 surplus would mark the fourth-largest surplus in 50 years. But it would be below the $13.2-billion surplus recorded for the 2005-06 year.

Dale Orr, managing director of fiscal forecaster Global Insight Canada, said the government may decide to take write-downs or set aside cash for future liabilities, which would reduce the final surplus number of the last budget year.

Under federal law, the surplus, or revenue Ottawa has left over at the end of the fiscal year once expenditures are accounted for, must go toward paying down debt.

Ottawa insiders say they expect Harper to play up the paying down of debt as a positive and crucial to ensure Canada's economic future. By paying down debt, the government reduces interest costs, which remain the single-biggest expenditure by Ottawa.

Interest costs related to the debt have dropped to $33.8-billion from its peak of $49.4-billion in the mid-'90s.

Harper is also expected to remind Canadians of his government's tax-back guarantee, in which savings in debt charges generated from debt pay-downs would be funneled back to Canadians through tax cuts.

John Williamson, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said he would like the prime minister to address tax relief when he unveils the surplus figure.

"I suspect he will be forced to address this overtaxation that is resulting in these massive surpluses," Williamson said, adding that the run of surpluses -- nearly $90-billion in the last decade -- is proof there is room for the government to provide tax relief.

unsnipp<

Well Harpers not going to win any friends except  Austrian School of Economics lifelong students.  Harper was not trained in that but broached the subject in his studies.

cheers :) majere

the ndp and the stand alone Harper don't count.