[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by FireFly

I got those numbers from some article yesterday. It has to do with the amount a person (or family) will spend on articles that have GST. The person making $30,000 spends less on GST as they buy food (which doesn't have GST unless it's junk) and shelter (probably rent which also doesn't have GST). The middle classer gets the biggest bonus because they have a longer term mortgage and whatnot than the upper income guy, and since there's tax on a house, and that tax then has interest charged on it over a longer period of time.

The point is that people think this is a tax that will most benefit the rich as they spend the most on GST, (makes sense, they have the most to spend). However, that's actually not true because they will pay off their big ticket items more quickly than the lower classes and therefore not pay as much interest on the purchase price. The lowest class can't actually afford to buy much that has GST charged on it.

It's like King Ralph said: (and I paraphrase,) "the big wig at the private club is telling me how I should take that $400 and invest in something but the towel boy is telling me how awesome it was." That $200 means more to the guy only earning $30,000 than $2000 means to the guy making $150,000.

Okay, I'm not saying I disagree but your numbers don't add up. I think the point you're trying to make is that the 1% GST decrease constitues a larger percentage of the lower income person's income than the rich dude, but the numbers you put up don't support that.
Seems to me the guy making $150k per year is seeing twice the benefit of the guy making $30k.

Sure $200 may be a big deal to the guy making 30k and the rich dude may not care about the extra $2000 but on a percentage of income basis, the guy making $150 is getting double what the 30k guy is. It's pretty tough to justify that kind of disparity with "It means more to the lower income guy". If it means so little to the rich guy then why aren't they putting it all to the lower income guy?

It doesn't really matter to me either way, but it seems you either have your point, or your numbers mixed up.