Political parties financed through tax credits

Re: “Donations bill shabby betrayal,” editorial, Sept. 20.

Why is it that everyone seems to pretend that political parties are not financed with tax dollars?

If I donate $100 to a party I will get a $75 tax credit so that it only costs me $25 while costing the tax payers $75.

If that $100 is then spent during an election, the party gets reimbursed 50 per cent ($50). So my $25 donation will have cost the taxpayers $125.

But not every $100 donation is subsidized by the taxpayer: If I am a person with low income and donate $100, my taxes, after basic deductions, will probably not be high enough to make use of the $75 tax credit. So my $100 donation will cost me $100, whereas it will cost a wealthy person only $25.

Political subsidies based on votes received is a much fairer system. It encourages people to get out and vote knowing that regardless of the election outcome, the subsidy will go to the party they voted for. It also reduces the influence of big money in politics by allowing parties to craft policies that are of interest to the majority and not just targeting people with the most money to donate.

If people are concerned that even more tax money will be given to political parties, then the per-vote subsidy could be funded by reducing the tax refund for political contributions as well as the amount that parties can spend on elections so as to reduce the taxes spent to reimburse their expenses. Barry Leslie Victoria