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Britt Dysart

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In case you missed it, there was an interesting bit of news in the business pages this week regarding a Canadian icon.

Tim Hortons made the decision to shutter its corporate headquarters in the U.S. and run everything from within Canadian borders.

There is nothing more Canadian than rolling up the rim on your large double-double, and the announcement was timed nicely to coincide with Canada Day festivities.

But this decision was about business, not patriotism. Never mind those ads that tug on the heartstrings. The Tims empire was built on sharp business acumen, not sentimentality.

In media reports the company explained that one of the reasons Tims was pulling up stakes in Delaware, a state known for low taxes, was because the tax system in Canada was more attractive.

In other words, lower taxes do matter when it comes to economic development, jobs, population growth, and other good things. In tough economic times, lower taxes matter more than ever as well-established companies such as Tim Hortons decide what locations are best-suited for them and their employees.

In related news, Canada Day also marked the official beginning of the comprehensive tax reductions for New Brunswickers introduced in this year's budget.

From July 1 moving forward, paycheques handed out to New Brunswickers will be fatter. New Brunswick is fast becoming one of the most attractive places to work in Canada for those who care about taking home more of their hard-earned dollars.

Lower personal income taxes also attract business. One of the keys to running a successful business is finding skilled workers. Like the businesses they work for, skilled workers gravitate to where taxes are lower.

Under the Plan For Lower Taxes, now in full swing, New Brunswickers will pocket more than $380 million in tax savings by 2012-13. Personal income tax savings this year alone add up to $124 million.

With 365,500 New Brunswickers working in May, by my math working New Brunswickers will save an average of $340 this year. That annual relief close to triples by 2012-13.

That's more money to invest in your child's education, pay off personal debt, buy Christmas presents, or take that family vacation that you could never quite afford.

The tax cuts make New Brunswick an extremely attractive place to live and to do business. It fits perfectly into Premier Graham's vision of self-sufficient province. It's a plan that works for both small businesses such as retailers, and for those looking to attract workers to larger scale projects, say the building of a second refinery in Saint John. which would require thousands of skilled workers.

It certainly makes for an easier sales pitch for the people in Business New Brunswick looking to grow a bigger, better economy.

Even the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation came out this week to praise New Brunswick for being one of the few jurisdictions to move in the right direction on taxes. To put that into perspective, it's rare that the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation says anything nice about any government.

More economic activity generates more revenue for governments, and allows them to invest in priorities such as health, education, senior care, and the province's most vulnerable citizens.

The tax cuts also position New Brunswick to recover more quickly than others from the current global economic downturn, allowing for a faster return to balanced budgets.

The opposition is in an awful spot on this subject. They have made a big deal lately about deficits (even though New Brunswick is doing much better on this front than many other jurisdictions). They can't seem to bring themselves to say whether or not they agree with these tax cuts, or if they would reverse them. They've chosen to try to change the argument and talk about property taxes that grew exponentially and unchecked under their watch, ignoring that measures to control this inherited problem were actually introduced by this government.

It is similar to their continued simpering about the Caisse Populaire, when it was their decision to guarantee 100-per-cent of the deposits that put taxpayers on the hook for some $85 million. It took this government to clean up that, and many other Tory messes.

The opposition continues to act like the kid on the playground who swears in all his innocence that he has touched no one, yet for some reason everyone around him is crying. Eventually, that kid will face a credibility issue.

Meanwhile, Premier Graham is forging ahead with his plan to build a bigger better province that can stand on its own two feet. Putting more money back in our pockets is a major part of that plan and it begins now.

Lower taxes work. Just ask the folks who run a little business called Tim Hortons.

Britt Dysart is a lawyer who practises in Fredericton and president of the New Brunswick Liberal Association.