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Bill: Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389
Details
Submitted by[?]: New Liberal Party of Hutori
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: May 4390
Description[?]:
| A one-time bill to Increase taxes and improve the solvency of the national purse. Once we have built a surplus into our budget, we will work to reduce the corporate tax in the future. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Tax percentage of the profit made by corporations.
Old value:: 15
Current: 9
Proposed: 18
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change Sales tax on essential goods such as food and non-luxury clothing.
Old value:: 0
Current: 0
Proposed: 3
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change Sales tax on luxury goods.
Old value:: 22
Current: 27
Proposed: 24
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 16:03:10, May 06, 2018 CET | From |  New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, Is it not the responsibility of the government to produce a budget? As the Commonwealth has been without a budget and hurtling towards a fiscal crisis, the New Liberals have a bill we hope will break through parliamentary gridlock and ensure fiscal responsibility. We expect every single measure in the bill to have detractors. We know that our friends in Democratic Change, the newly-combined Royalists and Conservatives, and the Reformers will want to oppose any corporate or luxury tax increase. We know that our friends on the left - especially the New National Progressives and Ultrackian Socialists will balk at imposing a tax on essential goods like food and clothing. We expect our friends with ties to the Labour movement - especially the Ultrackian Socialists - will oppose the measures in this bill that make it harder for unions to strike. However... this is an attempt a compromise bill. Our friends on the Right cannot sell to their voters an increase in taxation - especially in an election year - without some concessions. Our friends on the Left cannot turn their backs on the unions, at least without a promise that increased taxation will allow the government to fund popular programs like universal basic income and social security in full. We hope that my colleague and friend, the gentlewoman representing Woodhurst North, will make a case for these measures sufficient to the liking of our friends on both the left and the right to at least start the conversation towards finding a true solution to our fiscal problems. I yield the remainder of my time to the Shadow Finance Minister and MP for Woodhurst North Russell Selwyn MP for Sutton East Leader of the New Liberals |
| Date | 18:47:24, May 06, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, When the government fails to produce a budget, it is the responsibility of the opposition to attempt to make fiscal policy. We are about to embark on producing a bill that is, simply put, bad politics: we are going to bravely (or foolishly) ask for Parliament to increase taxes in an election year. The Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 is our attempt at a compromise on behalf of the voters and citizens of this great nation. Article 1 of the BUDGET Act would create a new tax on essential goods. Previously the Commonwealth had no tax on food or clothing. We suggest a 3 percent sales tax on such goods. There are 38 other countries with taxes on essential goods - including our neighbors the Republic of Telamon and the Confederation of St. Muron and Davostan. Ours would be the lowest on the continent, with essential goods taxed at a 15% level by the Davostani and a 50% level by the Telamonese! Because of our comparatively low tax on goods, people from our neighbors come across the boarder to buy essential goods; yet Hutori does not tax this cross-border commerce! But this proposal is not just about cross-border commerce, it is also about the least fortunate among us in society. Hutori already supports a Universal Basic Income. Those who would most benefit from a lack of taxation on essential goods already have the means to purchase such goods as the government guarantees a reasonable, though not high, standard of living for all of her citizens. A slight increase in taxation will allow Hutori to continue to support its citizens in this way - as such generous subsidies might have to be cut if we cannot increase revenue. Article 2 of the BUDGET Act increases the tax on luxury goods. This is, in effect, a tax on the wealthy without increasing income taxes. As our wealthiest citizens are the most likely to purchase luxury goods like yachts and private jets, a measly 2 percentage point increase would not likely deter buying patterns, but also increase government revenue. Increasing the total tax rate on luxury goods to 24 percent allows for competitiveness for our luxury brands. As our neighbors Davostan and Telamon have 25 and 50 percent luxury good tax rates respectively, Hutori luxury products would still be the best deal on the continent! In fact, with 19 nations having higher luxury good tax rates than Hutori, the competitiveness of our luxury good market is not just continental, but global! I want to skip ahead to Article 5 of the BUDGET Act before explaining our position on Articles 3 and 4 as all three articles work together to increase government revenue from corporations while also making it easier for corporations to do business. Article 5 would increase the corporate tax rate to 18 percent. This represents a 3 percentage point increase from the current rate of 15 percent. The New Liberals want corporations to do business in Hutori; we don’t want to increase tax rates to the point where corporations will look to relocate their jobs and tax revenues elsewhere. Furthermore, this party supported a tax rate decrease in the last Parliament. However, times have changed, and we believe a higher rate of tax can both increase government revenue and maintain Hutori’s economic competitiveness in the region. Again I bring my colleagues’ attentions to our neighbors Davostan and Telamon. The Davosti corporate tax rate is 21 percent, while the Telamonese tax rate is… you guessed it… 50 percent. Our corporate tax rate would still be the most competitive in the region. We in the New Liberal Party firmly believe that corporations will still want to do business from Roccoto to Adelia - especially after we make it easier for large corporations to do business with Articles 3 and 4 of this bill! If we are going to ask corporations to increase their contribution to the national purse, we must make it easier for them to do business in Hutori. Articles 3 and 4 of the BUDGET Act aim to do just that with respect to reigning in some labour union activity. Currently, labour unions can go on strike without any repercussion and business grinds to a halt as government has no power to break up a strike. Furthermore, a strike is relatively easy to initiate, as only a majority of those voting in a union-wide election can trigger a nationwide labour standstill. For instance, if only 100 trade unionists vote in a union referendum where the electorate is over 100,000, 51 people can bring the commerce of a nation of almost 100 million to a stop. To address these issues, Article 3 will give the government the power to approve the firing of union workers and Article 4 would require a majority of ALL members of a union, not just those who vote, for the union to go on strike. Giving the Government of the Commonwealth the power to approve firing striking union workers has two effects: First, it ensures that frivolous strikes will become a thing of the past. Second, it incentivizes unions and employers to have good relations with government; why would the government intervene on behalf of either the union or the employer unless it has good relations with either party or deems it good policy to do so? Article 4 simply requires a higher threshold to initiate a strike, which will bring more value to the strike. In short, workers will only strike when there is a major problem, as the majority of union workers would not want to jeopardize their jobs without cause. I want to clarify that the New Liberals are not anti-union. I myself am a member of the Accountant’s union, Local 4338 in Woodhurst. We just want to make sure that corporations and unions can work together for the benefit of all Hutorians. Increasing the tax rates in Articles 1, 2, and 5 will ensure that policies unions support like universal basic income and social security can continue to be funded at their current levels. Articles 3 and 4 ensure that businesses can do business without the constant threat of a union protest, lockout, or strike. None of us get everything we want, but all of us are better off. We hope our friends in Parliament will see the benefits of the BUDGET Act and look forward to your questions and commentary. Julia Black MP fordhurst North Shadow Finance Minister, New Liberals |
| Date | 18:49:47, May 06, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, In short, the BUDGET Act increases taxes ensure financial solvency, but not in such a way that impacts Hutorian global competitiveness. It also helps business owners by making it more difficult for unions to go on strike. We look forward to hearing potential amendments to the bill from our friends and colleagues among this honourable body. Russell Selwyn MP for Sutton East Leader of the New Liberals |
| Date | 18:57:43, May 06, 2018 CET | From | Ultrackian Communist Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr speaker, although I can support a compromise, this goes to far, to gain our vote article 3 must be removed, we would like article 1 to be lowered but we can live with it as it is |
| Date | 19:11:45, May 06, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, We would prefer not to have to allow government the right of approval over the firing of union workers; so, if the Ultrackians would vote fro the bill without Article 3, AND the bill would still be able to gain the support of some of the parties in the government, we would happily remove that provision. Julia Black MP for Woodhurst North Shadow Finance Minister, New Liberals |
| Date | 19:28:33, May 06, 2018 CET | From | Hutori Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, The Royalist Party will not support this bill. While we agree with Article 3, we are strongly opposed to Articles 1,2 and 5. We will not support increasing taxes, especially on essential goods. Also, this bill proposes to increase taxes on corporations. Instead of punishing them with higher taxes, we should be creating incentives for them to create more jobs, which will in turn reduce the need for things like a universal basic income. As for the points made about our government not puting forward a new budget, we would like to privatising certain industries, which will lower the burden on taxpayers and reduce the deficit. But we know that one of the parties in our coalition will not support any bit of privatisation. We will be waiting to do anything until after the election in August, in which we hope Hutorians will make the right choice and allow responsible, conservative minded parties to lead them forward, and once we form a new cabinet that is like minded, we will move forward with fixing the economic crisis caused by irresponsible socialist governments of the past. Pascale Rousseau Leader of the Royalist Party of Hutori MP for Anslem Centre |
| Date | 19:47:06, May 06, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, We thank the gentleman from Anslem Centre for his comments, and share his desire to incentivise, rather than punish job growth - especially with only one of our nation's provinces having an unemployment rate under 7 percent. Yet surely he shares our concerns about revenue generation? Would not Article 1 increase revenue without punishing the neediest people of Hutori? Would not article 2 increase revenue without hurting the luxury goods market? Would the honourable leaders of the Royalist Party and the Ultrackian Socialists consider a bill that keeps only Articles 1, 2, and 4? Russell Selwyn MP for Sutton East Leader of the New Liberals |
| Date | 20:42:02, May 06, 2018 CET | From | Hutori Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, We would not. Pascale Rousseau Leader of the Royalist Party of Hutori MP for Anslem Centre |
| Date | 21:49:17, May 06, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, I ask my honourable friend from the Royalist party what provisions of this bill he would support. Russell Selwyn MP for Sutton East Leader of the New Liberals |
| Date | 05:48:11, May 07, 2018 CET | From | Hutori Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, I believe I have already stated that the only article we would support in this bill is Article 3, although after further consideration, we would support article 4 because it means that a majority of the total number of union members have to vote in favour of a strike regardless of how many of them actually vote. This would prevent a senario where less than half of union members decide that the entire union has to strike. We have stated that we are strongly opposed to articles 1, 2 and 5, and we are unwilling to support any bill that increases taxation on corporations because we know at the end of the day, it will lead to less jobs for the people of this nation an higher prices for their goods and services. We are even more unwilling to support any bill that imposes a tax on essential goods as it is unfair to tax people on things that they require to survive. Even though our neighbouring countries may tax essential goods, we believe Hutori should be setting an example by not doing it. Finally, we believe that the luxury goods tax is already too high, and we will not support any bill that aims to increase it further. What parties in this house need to realize is that simply increasing taxes to maintain our government services is not fiscally responsible and will not bring our nation out of the economic crisis that we are in. We need to be scaling back government services and returning them to the private sector, providing subsidies or full coverage for those deemed to be low-income earners. This will save our government money and allow hard working Hutorians to rebuild our nation's economy. Pascale Rousseau Leader of the Royalist Party of Hutori MP for Anslem Centre |
| Date | 14:40:35, May 07, 2018 CET | From | New Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, We now believe we have the votes to pass this bill without the provisions that would affect unions in the bill. Therefore, we have removed the former Articles 3 and 4 - the provisions that would have allowed the government to break up strikes and would have forced unions to have a majority of their members (not just a majority of their members who vote) vote for a strike. We hope our friends in the NNPP and USPH will now vote for this bill. Julia Black MP for Woodhurst North |
| Date | 00:08:20, May 08, 2018 CET | From | Hutori Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, This bill is absolutely disgusting and I hope the people of Hutori will realize what this government is about to do to them. The hardworking citizens of this country will now have to pay a tax on goods that they have to buy in order to survive. Hutorian companies that are trying to work alongside the government and create jobs to pull us out of this recession are being punished with higher taxes. An already too high luxury goods tax is being increased further. These changes are unfair to the people of Hutori. We need to be finding ways to reduce government spending, not just increasing taxes to close the deficit. I am extremely dissappointed in all three government parties. I genuinely hope everyone in Hutori is paying close attention to what is going on in this house right now. To those people I say that this government is not working for you. They are working for themselves. They have no idea how to actually pull this nation out of the economic crisis it is in. If this government continues down this path, it will surely be a 1 term government. Pascale Rousseau Leader of the Royalist Party of Hutori MP for Anslem Centre |
| Date | 04:37:54, May 08, 2018 CET | From | Ultrackian Communist Party | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | In order to escape a recession you have to spend more |
| Date | 08:01:14, May 08, 2018 CET | From | Liberal Party of Hutori | To | Debating the Better Union in Dedicated Government Expenditures and Taxation (BUDGET) Act of 4389 |
| Message | Honourable Leader of the Ultrackian Socialist Party This is not the first time you've been warned about address this chair nor the first however it will be the last. You will address this Chair with the proper respect and honour the Rules of this House or you and your caucus will be removed. This is your final warning. Winston Thompson (AD-R) Speaker of Parliament MP for Glentingham Windsor Junction |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 230 | ||||
| no |
Total Seats: 175 | ||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Particracy does not allow real-life brand names (eg. Coca Cola, McDonalds, Microsoft). However, in the case of military equipment brand names it is permitted to use simple number-letter combinations (eg. T-90 and F-22) borrowed from real life, and also simple generic names, like those of animals (eg. Leopard and Jaguar). |
| Random quote: "I'll see you in the Palace in Kivonia once we win this war... and I'm ecstatic to be the one to execute you. Sleep well." - Queen Annalise, former Telamonese monarch |