QUEEN’S PARK – Tim Hudak, MPP Niagara West-Glanbrook, called on Finance Minister Dwight Duncan in the Legislature today to estimate how much more a typical middle class family will pay in sales taxes per year when the Dalton Sales Tax (DST) is extended to everyday items from gasoline to heating bills to the morning coffee.

The Finance Minister refused to give a number.

“The DST comes at a time when middle-class families are being forced to make tough decisions between paying their bills at the end of the month and filling their grocery carts,” Hudak said during Question Period. “And I know, Minister, you and your other Liberal Members are hearing the same concerns we are.”

Hudak called on Minister Duncan to scrap the DST before it starts and instead concentrate on providing businesses with immediate tax relief to create jobs and give middle class families a break.

Hudak suggested the McGuinty government help revive the dwindling construction sector and help young couples through a one-year suspension of the Land Transfer Tax, which would save homebuyers almost $3,000 on the purchase of a $300,000 home.

He also proposed the Minister immediately address one of the biggest penalties on private sector job creation – payroll taxes. The Employer Health Tax (EHT) forces an employer to pay hundreds of dollars in payroll taxes with each new hire – a clear economic disincentive at the best of times.

“A payroll tax is a direct tax on jobs,” Hudak said. “A one-year EHT holiday for new hires is a powerful and immediate way to spur private sector job creation and help families today.”