Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Government User Fees: Canada Rakes In $8 Billion In 2010-11, Double Previous Year

OTTAWA - The federal government has made much about its record in cutting taxes, but a new report shows it is making out like a bandit on user fees.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page's report on user fees shows Ottawa raked in just over $8 billion in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

That represents only a small portion of what it gets from taxes, but it's more than double the $3.4 billion it got from user fees a decade earlier.

In fact, the PBO says user fees have been increasing at around nine per cent annually since 2000.

User fees are defined as revenues derived from the sale of goods and services the government offers the public.

That can include publications, rentals of lands, buildings and vehicles, or such things as temporary resident permits and divorce registrations.

The PBO says five departments — Industry Canada, the RCMP, the Canada Revenue Agency, Natural Resources and Public Works — account for 70 per cent of total revenues from user fees.

The budget watchdog notes that this is not just an Ottawa trend. User fees are rising at the provincial and municipal levels as well, and around the world as governments seek new revenue streams.

In fact, Ottawa is a small player in the charging of user fees. In 2010, provinces collected about $31 billion from services to the public, four times what the federal government took in, and municipalities earned roughly $18 billion.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: The Canadian Press

No comments:

Post a Comment