For low-income earners in Ontario, what’s better for the bottom line — lower income taxes, or a higher minimum wage?Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford calls the Liberal and NDP pledge to increase rates to $15 an hour by 2019 a tax grab. According to economist Sheila Block, the move would mean an extra $1,465 in the pockets of the working poor.The question is already a key debate between parties vying for votes, with both Liberals and New Democrats promising to implement the wage hike. The Conservatives, meanwhile, say they will freeze wages at their current $14 hourly rate and eliminate provincial income tax for everyone earning below $30,000. The Conservatives would have no say over the federal portion of income taxes.Read more: Doug Ford’s pitch to Ontario voters will cut costs, size of government — but no layoffsLiberals will remain ‘steadfast’ in their plans to help struggling Ontarians, says Premier Kathleen WynneOpinion | Chantal Hébert: Doug Ford’s win shows that grassroot movements continue to shape Canada’s politicsBlock, who works for the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, recently analyzed the Canada Revenue Agency figures from 2015 to determine the answer that makes most sense for low-wage earners. According to her analysis, two-thirds of the 4.9 million Ontarians making less than $30,000 already pay no income tax. The average bill for the 34 per cent who did was $485 in 2015. This is the amount they would save with a tax break.Assuming a low-wage earner works 37.5 hours a week, a $1 increase in the minimum wage would mean an extra $1,950 a year before taxes — leaving them about $1,500 richer than they would be under Ford’s plan. “If you want to focus on increasing the incomes for low-wage workers, an increase in the minimum wage is a much more effective way of doing it,” said Block.A minimum-wage increase was originally outside the scope of the cur ...
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