Will Stephen Harper Raise Taxes Again to Pay For His New Toys?

There is some speculation that Stephen Harper may raise taxes again to pay for his new fighter jets.

If he does this will be the third major tax hike since he came to power. We can no longer afford to keep this guy.

But if he is going to settle for only two tax hikes, the HST and the new payroll tax, what programs will he cut, seeing as how we are already in deficit?

Some of the discussions in the military community about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter centers around the question - where will the money come from for these aircraft? The estimated price tag (emphasis on estimated, no one really knows what the final cost would be) is reported to be $16 billion. That would be over a 30 to 40 year period.

Even still, some military and industry personnel have raised concerns privately that acquiring the JSF will require cuts elsewhere and other equipment programs scaled back. What might those be? Which service could lose some capability or future capability in exchange for Canada’s procurement of the JSF?

“If the government, which is already in a deficit, would like to argue its case for some pricey combat jets it has the responsibility to explain to Canadians what they lose in government services,” the Embassy editorial notes. “Or else it can raise taxes.”

I know one place where he'll probably find some cuts.