Ontarians Urged To "Voluntarily" Pay More Taxes To Cut Province's Debt

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/27/2015 19:15 -0500

Christmas is a time for giving and that is what Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is asking of her citizenry. With almost $300 billion in debt, and almost 1 in 10 dollars of revenue going to pay interest, and already facing the highest tax rates in North America, The Star reports that Ontario officials are asking that 'patriots' voluntarily donate their tax refund or write a cheque to defray the province's massive debtload.


As The Toronto Sun reports, Canada’s largest province has asked its taxpayers to donate their hard-earned money to the cause of bailing out the much indebted provincial government.

For a mere $21,000 for every man, woman and child in the province, Ontario could be debt free.

No, this is not some kind of holiday joke about the Grinch who stole Christmas.

On top of paying among the highest taxes in North America, and coping with skyrocketing hydro prices — hikes directly caused by the decisions made by this Liberal administration and the previous one — the Wynne government wants more.

Treasury Board Chair Deb Matthews made the bold request last week, and specifically asked folks to donate their tax return rebate to help pay off the provincial debt.

“It’s an unusual thing for someone to do, but I would encourage any Ontarian who wants to make a contribution to feel free to do so,” said Matthews.

A government asking for donations isn’t just unusual. It’s like a stranger taking your car and then coming back the next day to ask if you’ll chip in some money for the gas. Maybe you can pay for an oil change, too?
But the Wynne government is desperate for cash.

For the past decade, they’ve spent and borrowed like there’s no tomorrow and wasted public funds with little concern for taxpayers.

Thanks to all the government’s reckless spending, including a pile of billion-dollar scandals that have led to criminal charges, Ontario’s government is dealing with spiralling debt.

Nearly one in every ten dollars spent by the Ontario government goes towards paying interest on the provincial debt.