Voters should not take the amount displayed on the “solidarity calculator” for cash, indicates the spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
“There was a small calculation error, which was reported to us, which has already been corrected,” he noted on the sidelines of an announcement in Quebec City on Tuesday. “For the rest, this tool is transparent. There is a document accessible when filling out the solidarity calculator which clearly explains to people that these are estimates,” he added.
QS launched the “solidarity calculator” — “a short questionnaire [permettant d’]estimate the impact of a supportive government on [les] annual income” of an individual — on his website, when Mr. Nadeau-Dubois appeared on the prime time show Everybody talks about it Sunday night.
The purpose of the “solidarity calculator”: to counter “the campaign of fear” led by the Coalition avenir Québec against the political program of QS, which is accompanied, according to it, by “orange taxes”.
The problem: some data presented to the user of the “solidarity calculator” ignores the salary or the number of children he has, even if he has provided this information.
For example, Québec solidaire estimates the impact of the Quebec sales tax (QST) holiday on the essential goods (food, restaurant meals, clothing, etc.) that it promises at $550, regardless of whether the respondent earns $25,000 or $125,000 per year.
To make such tax savings, an individual would have to buy some $5,500 worth of essential products that are not currently subject to QST.
“It’s a general tool that produces estimates,” said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois in broad strokes less than a week before the election.
According to him, voters should remember that “the vast majority of people in Quebec will have more money in their pocket thanks to Québec solidaire”. “The solidarity calculator demonstrates this to the overwhelming majority of people who try it. But, a web-based information tool is not a tax report,” he argued.