Quote:
Originally Posted by chowhou
...You do realize that when all provinces are subject to the same federal tax system, and some provinces get equalization payments but BC does not, that literally does mean that BC dollars are being funnelled towards have-not provinces for equalization payments, right? That's called the fungibility of money.
Not making a judgement on the morality of it all, but denying basic facts just breeds discontent.
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Almost everybody pays federal taxes, either income tax or GST. Since 1957 Canada has had a system where some provinces are given some of the federal funds that go into general revenue, and others don't receive anything.
No money is paid by the BC government, or withheld from them, and there is no cheque or direct debit to the federal government to help other provinces, which seems to be how the system was being characterized.
Federal funds allocated for transit are entirely a different story, and I really have no idea whether the larger provinces in the east get more than their fair share, based on population. Certainly larger urban areas which can justify a rail transit system qualify for funds that others don't, but that doesn't seem to be a 'hard done by west' story. Halifax is only a bit smaller than Hamilton, but it's not getting transit funds any time soon.