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QUEBEC — Social activists left red hand prints all around the treasury board government building in Quebec City Thursday to protest the Liberals’ plan to lower income taxes but raise the provincial sales tax, as early as 2016.

The tax reform was proposed by Université de Sherbrooke tax expert Luc Godbout last March, and is now being studied at the National Assembly.

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“It’s a real masquerade,” said Anne-Valérie Lemieux-Breton from the Coalition Main Rouge, a group that opposes privatization of public services as well as increased fees. “This parliamentary commission is a façade to justify the government’s austerity program.”

The coalition, which is comprised of many groups, fears the tax reform will hurt public services. “In recent years, because of successive income tax cuts, the government has had less money for social programs,” Lemieux-Breton added.

Speaking to reporters before the committee hearings began, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão announced his plan to implement the Godbout tax reform, as soon as possible, ideally in its entirety.