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A former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the Harper governments income-splitting plan is like socialism for the wealthy, and is warning the Tories that the policy is bad politics.

When you really think about income splitting, its the equivalent of state-run socialism for the wealthy, Michael Taube wrote in a column in the Toronto Sun.

A few of us will shift income to get a tax credit directly from the government, paid for by taxpayers. Doesnt have much to do with free enterprise and the private sector, Im afraid.

Taube, who has penned columns in numerous newspapers including the Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star and the Washington Times, argued the Tories were treading on dangerous ground by enacting policies that turn attention to income inequality.

Conservatives should, as a rule, avoid issues involving potential income disparity. Situations that create winners and losers never work to our advantage. It always looks like were favouring the wealthy, paying lip service to the middle class, and thumbing our noses at the poor, he wrote.

Taubes column came out following a report from the Parliamentary Budget Office that projected the income-splitting plan would benefit only 15 per cent of Canadian households, mostly at the higher end of the income ladder.

The report estimated the plan would cost the federal $2.2 billion annually in lost revenue. It also said the plan would reduce employment in Canada by 7,000, mostly the result of women leaving the workforce as a result of the new tax benefit.

The Tories income-splitting plan will allow couples to shift up to $50,000 of income from one spouse to another to reduce the top tax rate paid on the money. The maximum benefits are capped at $2,000.

Critics point out the tax break does nothing for single-income and single-parent households, and nothing for two-income households where both incomes are similar.

Contrary to popular belief, many Canadian couples dont have huge disparities in their annual salaries. Hence, theyll collect very little of the $2,000 tax credit -- and the ones that do, dont desperately need the money, either, Taube wrote.

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Income-Splitting Like Socialism For The Wealthy,' Former Harper Speechwriter Michael Taube Writes