The FHSA would cost up to $1.4 billion annually, but much of the benefit would likely go to high-income households. Changes to the proposed program would make it more fair and more likely to encourage private savings by prospective first-time homebuyers. Read this articleThe Liberals’ plan for first-time homeowners is a good start but should be more equitable
Cutting the GST for a short time won’t do much to make life more affordable for families, and it will do nothing to beat inflation. But a GST holiday would get consumers spending more. That would give the economy a boost it might well need, as the recovery faces headwinds this fall from a possibly resurgent coronavirus and from economic shocks in the rest of the world. Read this articleThe Conservative plan for a GST tax holiday in December should be expanded to help the recovery
We are offering non-partisan assessments from academic experts on the public finance issues in the Sept. 20 federal election campaign. Read this articleFinances of the Nation launches expert analysis series on federal election
The Conservative Party of Canada proposes to increase the growth rate of the Canada Health Transfer to at least six per cent per year for a decade. We explore the implications of this for overall health transfers and for provincial governments. Read this articleUnpacking the Conservative Party’s proposal to boost health transfers to the provinces
We tend to give other voters the advice to ask themselves the following of any proposal: What problem do we want policy to address and can this policy succeed? In our view, a key policy challenge is reducing long-term joblessness. Read this articleWhich federal party has the best plan for getting Canadians back to work?
Part II: The underlying problem is the differential that exists today between personal tax rates on taxable dividends as opposed to capital gains. Read this articleSurplus stripping: We need to fix Canada’s tax rules
Part I: A recently approved private member’s bill is deeply flawed and opens the floodgates to aggressive surplus stripping schemes. It should be fixed. Read this articleUPDATE: Surplus stripping and the new, costly tax loophole for intergenerational transfers
Our proposal represents an incremental step in the direction of a basic income guarantee. Harmonizing the main income tax credits, making the base and tax-back rate suitably progressive, and ensuring they are all refundable would form the basis for a modest basic income. Read this articleCanada should harmonize tax credits to enhance fairness and efficiency
The rise of small-business incorporation is suppressing taxable incomes of rich Canadians. The growing gulf between top personal tax rates and the low rates paid by small CCPCs is driving the rise of incorporation. Read this articleAre the rich really getting poorer in Canada?
Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne took to Twitter to elaborate, with multiple charts, on his recent column about the woes afflicting the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. Read this articleAndrew Coyne: The problem with the CPP Investment Board
