Commentary

An Employment Insurance system for the 21st century: Lesson 2, The future of work calls for better income insurance

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This is the second commentary in a three-part series examining ideas for reforming Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program. This commentary discusses the need for the EI program to provide comprehensive insurance against various forms of income loss. The First commentary, on the need for EI to be better designed to insure against big shocks, can be found here. Read this articleAn Employment Insurance system for the 21st century: Lesson 2, The future of work calls for better income insurance→

An Employment Insurance system for the 21st century: Lesson 1, Big shocks matter

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This is the first commentary in a three-part series examining ideas for reforming Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) program. This commentary argues that the program as presently constituted is not well-designed to provide adequate support for households that suffer large and enduring negative income shocks. Read this articleAn Employment Insurance system for the 21st century: Lesson 1, Big shocks matter→

Making the Best of It: Options for Carbon levy Revenue in Alberta

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Recently, the Trudeau government announced it would increase the federal backstop carbon levy to $170 per tonne between now and 2030. This backgrounder considers options for fiscal policy reform in Alberta that would be made possible by the provincial government repatriating the full amount of the carbon levy (most of which is now collected by Ottawa and distributed to Albertans in lump sum transfers) while also instituting a harmonized sales tax. These options include almost entirely closing the province’s “fiscal gap” and thus essentially solving its current fiscal problems or eliminating both personal and corporate income taxes, thus creating a more economically efficient and easily understood “tax advantage” than Alberta has ever enjoyed in the past. Read this articleMaking the Best of It: Options for Carbon levy Revenue in Alberta→

Reforming GST Rules for Foreign Digital Suppliers

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The Trudeau government recently announced the extension of the GST to include digital products and services sold remotely to Canadians by foreign suppliers. This change is sometimes referred to as the “Netflix Tax.” The tax policy change is long overdue, and will ensure foreign suppliers of digital services to Canadians pay their fair share of taxes. The new rules will impart greater integrity to our tax system and prepare Canada to look to the future of digital taxation with clear eyes. Read this articleReforming GST Rules for Foreign Digital Suppliers→

The Fiscal Wages of Sin

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Provincial governments across Canada face a conflict of interest surrounding the policy treatment of alcohol, tobacco and gambling. On the one hand, all provinces derive substantial revenues from “sin taxes” or from providing these goods and services through government monopolies. These revenues flow into consolidated revenue funds for the year they are collected and so governments are reliant on them to fund current programs. On the other hand, governments have a mandate to promote public health, all of which are negatively affected by alcohol, tobacco and gambling addictions. This commentary explores the conflict of interest surrounding sin taxes. It also considers policy proposals for setting aside a non-trivial share of all sin tax revenue in a special fund designed to generate a lasting stream of revenue that can be used to finance social support projects an initiatives. Read this articleThe Fiscal Wages of Sin→

Highlights of interprovincial tax comparisons: Bilan de la fiscalité au Québec 2021 Edition

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The first part of this 2021 edition of the Bilan de la fiscalité au Québec presents the tax announcements made by the Québec and federal governments, and by those of the other provinces, since the previous edition of the report. The next two sections compare Québec against the other Canadian provinces in terms of taxation. The fourth section presents an overview of tax expenditures in Québec and evidences the choices made regarding the different sources of tax revenues. Then, two sections examine taxation from different angles, namely, households (net tax burden) and individuals (profile of Québec taxpayers). Finally, the last section looks at various indicators of income inequality and how governments reduce inequality through taxation. Read this articleHighlights of interprovincial tax comparisons: Bilan de la fiscalité au Québec 2021 Edition→

It’s time to increase taxes on capital gains

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To address wealth inequality, and to improve functioning of our tax system, tax rates on capital gains income should be increased. The current tax preference for capital gains costs upwards of $15 billion annually. To equalize the tax treatment of gains and other income, the inclusion rate for capital gains on shares of small businesses should rise to 90% from the current 50%, and the inclusion rate for gains on shares of large corporations should rise to 70%. This would constitute a simpler, more efficient way of taxing high-wealth individuals compared to other recent proposals for a novel tax on wealth, and would likely raise more revenue as well. Read this articleIt’s time to increase taxes on capital gains→

Large Corporate Groups that Received CEWS Payments

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We identified over 4000 recipients of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy that are part of large corporate groups with at least $600 million in assets. This list includes 190 companies owned by Canadian billionaires, including the Thomson, Irving, Rogers, and Péladeau families, and 1829 companies in foreign-controlled multinational enterprises. These and other examples in our data suggest that CEWS funds may not be well targeted. Read this articleLarge Corporate Groups that Received CEWS Payments→

The Taxation of Capital Income in Canada Part III: Bringing it all Together

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This is the final commentary in a three-part series examining possible reforms to Canada’s approach to taxing capital income. In this third commentary, I bring the material from the first two commentaries together and describe a tax reform package applied to the two sides of the capital market that would make Canada’s income tax system more attractive when viewed through the lens of the equity-efficiency trade-off. Key to the analysis is the decoupling of the supply and demand sides of the market in a small open economy like Canada. Read this articleThe Taxation of Capital Income in Canada Part III: Bringing it all Together→

Fiscal Risks and Government Debt in Canada: The Implications of Interest Rate and Growth Rate Volatility

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This commentary examines recent differences in growth rates and interest rates at the federal and provincial levels in order to estimate the future paths of public-sector debts. The results provide a novel perspective on a recurring theme in Canada’s debt sustainability debates—namely, that Ottawa is in a better position than most provinces to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio. Read this articleFiscal Risks and Government Debt in Canada: The Implications of Interest Rate and Growth Rate Volatility→