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Peopbmmhn’ngthatindnnnhtocdbamfiumnmny sources as possible, governments have begun to forget some basic pnmiplesoffnimeu.'l‘beptindplecd'mhimeuwhkhmost ease of administration, revenue productivity, certainty, and neutralâ€" ity. The two most important criteria on which to judge a tax are equity and neutrality. Eqmty.ofcwm.isdifinfltwddne.Somepeoplethmkthatitis eqmtableforeachpersontocont.nht.efl)eumamwntintax funds. Others believe it is equitable to contribute in funds according behevemdefinjngequityintermsofequnlsacrificeofmrginal uuhtytands'mtkmeisammedmbediminidfingmargimlufil- 1tyasuwompesup,thisleadswtheideathattamsslnddbe pmmve».fixelat&erdommtleadhoaq:ecificscheduledm rates necessarily. Other ideas of equity which one can find in the litâ€" erature has to do with horizontal equity; one has to figure out who is equal. Many would argue, as I did in Policy Options in 1981, that wfigureoutwhoequahare,itismrywoomparefamflies becausehvingmangementsmdeupenditureshavewbejoinuy determined for many major expenditures. Surtaxes and our current progressive tax system have destroyed that idea. For instance, take two familiés in which the total income is $105,000. In one family, the income is almost evenly split betweenthetwospaues.withtheonespaweearning%.ooom the other, $50,000. Total federal taxes in this household will be $20,031 while provincial taxes will be $10,459 (1992). In the other family, the sole breadwinner has a job which earns $105,000 but the spouse regularly participates with the breadwinner in activities which are necessary for the breadwinner to keep the job. In this family, federal taxes will be $28,175 while the provincial taxes will be $15,209 81. Thus, on the same income the second family has paid $43,385 versus 30,490 for the first family, a difference of $12,895. No one can justify this difference. to the benefits derived . I'Vr;@vufigbvem_ment services. Still others Floyd Laughren, the Treasurer of Ontario, noted in a recent radio interview that he has been hearing a growing concern for this inequity but it is his surtaxes which guarantee that this sort of thing happens. There are others, particularly feminists of the more leftist leaning, who argue that those who go out to work, experience some costs for doing so. They even go so far in some of their writings as to argue that the stayâ€"atâ€"home spouse should pay for the priviâ€" legeo(hawnglensuremneamithmthiskindofdifl'eremeinm levels is fair. When I published my earlier paper, the Hon. Judy Erola, who was then the federal Liberal Minister for the Status of Women, wrote a reply in which she argued that women who went out to work were a special case and lower taxes for families in which the woman went out to work should have the tax break. I had not even suggested which spouse was which. While I can understand Lhattherennghtbeadifieremeinm(ie.dothh\g),dmahmfld be a deduction for the costs of earning income, not a difference in the treatment of income through the tax rates. Remember in the caseofthecwphinwhichllltbeitmmemeamedint.henameof one individual, the spouse regularly helped by meeting clients, etc. Recently, the Family Caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party and Kids First have dealt with this issue, albeit in very differâ€" entwsys.mFamflyCamu.mmhmlbeiraedit,hasnguedthfi treatment of commonâ€"law families should be the same as for marâ€" First has launched a court battle in Calgary (with the help of a local area family). It is important for them to win if Canadians are going to be treated equitably. However, if they don‘t win that court case, it would be my hope that both the federal and provincial governments will be inundated with letters asking for legislative changes to make taxes more equitable. Tax fairness Help for Canadian companies wishing to forge business ties with Mexico lUnivenity business adminisâ€" tration grads Robert Haycock and Rosalind Wilson long to find employment after they received their degrees in May. Instead of pounding the paveâ€" ment and sending off countless resumes, the pair opened their own business called Latitudes Consulting, which focuses on assisting Canadian companies with business opportunities in Mexico, Central America and South America. It provides a variâ€" ety of services to clients, including research and analysis, developâ€" ment of export strategies and the identification of strategic partners in Latin markets. Last month Latitudes Consultâ€" ing got a boost in the arm after it was awarded a major research contract involving market research on the service sector of the Mexiâ€" can economy. The majority of the research will be primary in nature and a temporary market in Mexico has been established. % "With NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) coming through and all of these increased opportunities for trade, a lot of small and medium sized compaâ€" nies see this pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but don‘t know how to reach out and grab it because of cultural or language problems," said Haycock, who hopes his busiâ€" ness will be a bridge to the end of the rainbow. New Latitudes Both partners have extensive international experience. Haycock has lived in Mexico, Spain and France and is fluent in Spanish and French, while Wilson has sigâ€" nificant experience in the United Kingdom and the Middle East and also speaks Arabic. "If a company (wanting to invest in Latin market) knows nothing about the market, the client would come here with their idea and ask me to tell them about Mexico â€" is it feasible (to locate there) and if it is feasible, ‘can you do it for me in finding a joint venture partner," Wilson said of potential clients. Businesses interested in finding a joint venture partner aren‘t just looking at the large metropolitan areas such as Mexico City and Monterey, but are interested in establishing contacts outside of the larger areas for two main reasons: tax breaks and environmental regâ€" t didn‘t take Wilfrid Laurier Bringing your message home â€" 886â€"2830 Businesses interested in setting up joint venture partners include the service industries, multiâ€" media, retail, engineering. Enviâ€" ronmentalists have also shown a great deal of interest in the Latin market. Wilfrid Laurier University business administration graduates Robert Haycock and Rosalind Wilson, partners in Latitudes Consulting. "Whether or not NAFTA goes through at this stage, the interest is steadily growing. As the Mexiâ€" cans themselves will say, ‘with or without the Free Trade Agreeâ€" ment, we brought our tariffs from a maximum 100 per cent to maxiâ€" mum 20 per cent.‘ They‘re still opening the market regardless of the agreement," Wilson said. "All the publicity (NAFTA) over the past three or four years has generated enough interest that it‘s going to keep on going," Haycock "Rate as of July 693. Raves subject «o change 8t availabilicy. "Just looking at the trade statisâ€" tics, Latin America holds 10 per cent of the worlds‘ population and is only two per cent of Canada‘s trade. There‘s a definite imbalance there that sooner or later is going to be rectified and the push for globalization and competitiveness is going to force us to look at this market." The pair realizes that Mexico is the gateway to the rest of Latin America. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have already established trading blocks and in time they will also take steps to try and get involved in the NAFTA agreement. Accordâ€" ing to Haycock, Chile and Venezuela are both extremely interested in setting up ties immeâ€" SATTER, TICROTS (519) 576â€"3391