As Canadians complete their tax returns this
year many are quietly - and sometimes loudly - cursing
Ottawa.
No responsible citizen can accept a
government that abuses the public's trust and freely plunders
the treasury. According to the Auditor-General, government
officials failed to safeguard hundreds of millions of our tax
dollars spent on advertising and sponsorships fees.
Canadians have come to realize the accounting
problems are more widespread than they first believed. Consider
only the latest reports: The Department of National Defence
improperly paid out $160-million in questionable contracts, and
a public servant whistleblower revealed rule breaking began in
1994, well before the Quebec sponsorship program was created in
1997.
In response to this waste and corruption,
some taxpayers are calling for a "tax boycott" whereby unhappy
Canadians would deposit their taxes in a fund to be paid to
Ottawa after the sponsorship scandal has been cleaned up.
Others want to initiate a class action legal
case to recover wasted tax dollars.
But neither proposal would go very far.
Putting pressure on politicians by temporarily placing taxes
into a trust fund would be illegal, because the Income Tax Act
- and other laws too - require taxes to be paid to the
government directly and immediately.
The law does not make this obligation depend
on how well - or how poorly - our money is spent.
A class action lawsuit would also fail,
because wasting tax dollars is not recognized as a cause of
action by the courts. This is, in part, because Canada's
constitution does not recognize property rights. (A timely bit
of news: On the weekend Communist China enshrined property
rights as a constitutional right.)
A court's likely - and appropriate - response
to a class action filed on behalf of taxpayers would be
something along the lines of, "Elect different or
better representatives for yourselves if you
are unhappy with current government policy."
The powerlessness of Canadians in the face of
waste, arrogance and corruption reveals the coercive and
non-accountable character inherent in all governments.
Outside of government, in the world of
business, you do not get paid unless and until you have kept
your promises and have provided a valuable product or
service.
This basic principle of accountability
applies to every employer and employee, to every consumer and
company, and to every contract made by businesses large and
small.
Deliver fewer goods than promised - or goods
of inferior quality - and you will not get paid the amount you
would have been paid if you had performed the contract.
Charge customers high prices for poor service
and watch your business go bankrupt. Outside of government, the
world of voluntary contracts has built-in accountability. Yet
there is no legal requirement for a government to perform well,
or at all.
So what are law-abiding taxpayers to do? It
goes without saying that taxpayers should maximize their
credits and exemptions to which they are legally
entitled.
Beyond that they must hold their nose and pay
their taxes. There is no legal - or acceptable - method to get
out of paying taxes, and failure to pay will ultimately result
in the government garnishing your wages, freezing your bank
account, putting a lien on your house, and seizing your
property.
Canadians have a responsibility to pay taxes,
but they also have a corresponding right to be mad as hell with
Ottawa over how tax money is handled. Paul Martin says he will
get to the bottom of the spending scandal.
Voters must hold the Prime Minister to his
promise and if his government falls short, it will be the duty
of the electorate to throw the rascals out of office and pick a
government that will treat them - and their tax dollars - with
respect.
John Williamson
CTF Federal Director
Ottawa, Ontario