Ottawa jeweller Todd McGuire has big plans for his tax refund, a two-week trip to Newfoundland with his family later this year.
Vacations are just one of the preferred ways to spend tax refunds, along with debt repayment, savings plans, donating to charity and shopping.
But there is another option.
In the fine print of all Ontario residents’ tax returns is a simple appeal: donate your refund back to the Ontario Opportunities Fund and it will be used to pay down the provincial debt.
“Absolutely not,” said McGuire when asked if he would be giving any of his money back to the province. “You work hard. You pay your taxes. You pay what’s asked of you. I understand we have to pay taxes, but you have to live a bit.”
Instead of asking for donations, McGuire said the government should be more efficient with the tax dollars they receive.
Ontario’s debt was last calculated to be $236 billion, and growing thanks to interest every second. TD Economics estimates the debt level will peak in 2014-15 at a whopping 41 per cent of GDP. That’s about a quarter of the level of Greece’s debt .
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With this year’s provincial deficit pegged at about $16 billion, it’s clear the province could use every dollar it can get.
And the province does get some charity from tax refunds.
Since the fund was announced in 1996, just over $2 million has been collected. The money has come from nearly 30,000 Ontarians.
In 2010 alone, 2,033 people contributed just over $172,000 to the provincial government.
It’s not just tax refunds though. The fund has also collected $214,752.21 in additional donations from 226 people since its inception.
Donors receive a tax deduction from the provincial government to use the next year.
“In principle I think that’s great. Kudos to anyone who does,” said Jason Manchester, an Ottawa resident who works contract jobs.”I’m not going to do it.”
Manchester said while he believes public debt is everyone’s responsibility, donating to eliminate it wouldn’t make any difference until the government balanced the budget.
Matt House, a father of two, said he could think of a lot of things to spend the money on before giving it back to the government.
“Save it, spend it on a vacation or give it to a charity I care about, then sinking it into the black hole of government debt is less attractive,” he said from a coffee shop in downtown Ottawa.
Just down the street, Marc Kennington was taking a break from his job as a cook.
“It’s pretty cheeky because when you die they get it anyways,” he said of the government’s appeal.
Kennington had another idea: “Why don’t they put a line on your tax remittance form asking if the government contribute to paying off my debt?”
Ontario’s not the only place willing to take charity to help pay down the debt. The federal government has a similar program, which raised $11.2 million in 2010.
Wallowing in a debt load of over $15 trillion, the U.S. government has also started taking online donations. Americans have already donated $2.4 million in 2012, a figure that could grow if congressional Republicans take billionaire investor Warren Buffet up on his challenge to help lower the debt.
For every dollar a Republican representative donates to help pay down the debt, he will match it.
Any Ontarians interested in being the province’s Warren Buffet?
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