TORONTO – Lower taxes to kick-start job creation are key to Ontario’s economic recovery and will benefit all Ontarians, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said today while discussing his white paper Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth with workers at Toronto City Buick Chevrolet.

“Right now we have half a million people who woke up this morning without a job to go to.   It is the job of the Premier to remove barriers to job creation starting with the taxes that discourage growth,” Hudak said.   “The simple truth is that whether you lower the personal income tax, sales tax, or business taxes – you encourage economic activity that leads to more jobs, increased tax revenues and a healthy economy.”

Hudak discussed with workers how everyone benefits when families have more take-home pay.  Families have more choices in how to spend their money. Business owners can choose to reinvest in new equipment and hire more people — actions that increase productivity and put people back to work.

Hudak noted that today’s weak Ontario economy is the direct result of a decade of decisions to raise taxes.   Hudak also noted that a weak economy means less tax revenue that that hurts our ability to provide and protect the things we care about like health care and education.

“On the one hand you have academics, labour unions and two political parties saying we shouldn’t cut taxes.  On the other side you have the facts and a lot of people who found work and created jobs when our economy was booming thanks to low taxes,” Hudak said.  “I will go with what works.”

“If we want to turn the economy around again, it has to start with encouraging businesses to grow again, manufacturers to hire again, and we do that by offering substantial tax relief.”

The benefits of tax relief are highlighted in the recent PC discussion paper Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth, which presents bold, new and transformative ideas to balance the budget, create private-sector jobs and strengthen the economy.

To read Paths to Prosperity: An Agenda for Growth and to share your ideas to lower taxes, create jobs and grow the economy, visit: www.ontariopc.com.