She quotes 1927 U.S. court ruling about taxes paying for a 'civilized society,' but completely misses the lessons of history

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is now justifying tax increases by quoting from a U.S. Supreme Court decision almost a hundred years ago.

“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society,” wrote Oliver Wendell Holmes in a 1927 decision.

Federal U.S. tax in 1927 was in the low single digits, according to the Tax Foundation, an American organization that focuses on tax policy, as opposed to Canada today where the rate is anywhere from 15-33 per cent.

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Perhaps the increase is because we are having to pay more for that civilization. Another explanation is that governments, particularly this Liberal one, have forgotten what fiscal prudence entails.

At the weekend, Freeland was on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live show quoting Wendell Holmes about the necessity of taxes to a “civilized society,” and defending the budget’s capital gains tax increase in the face of criticism that some people, such as doctors and businessmen, would find themselves penalized by the rise.

“I don’t think it’s right to describe tax fairness as a punishment,” said Freeland, who seemed to admit that the previous six Liberal budgets had failed to produce an equitable tax system.........

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