This Commentary presents calculations of effective marginal tax rates on earned income for recipients of the Canada Recovery Benefit. Read this articleMarginal tax rates under the Canada Recovery Benefit
The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) is a bold step in the delivery of pandemic-related aid to self-employed and gig workers, who are poorly served by Employment Insurance. Advocates of reform to Canada’s income transfer system will find much to like about the CRB, and some may wish to make the program, or something like it, a permanent feature of Canada’s social safety net. However, there are likely to be substantial enforcement and implementation issues with the program, as well as problems around fairness. As currently designed, the CRB is not a good template for a guaranteed basic income for Canada. Read this articleThe Canada Recovery Benefit: Employment Insurance or Basic Income Guarantee?
The Canada Recovery Benefit may become an important source of support for self-employed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among those without employees. One important obstacle to the policy’s success is that the self-employed are a heterogeneous group that is not easily characterized, with workflows that do not fit neatly into weekly benefit periods. Efforts to develop well-targeted post-pandemic support for the self-employed require better data to understand their workflows, incomes, and behavioural responses to adjustments in policy parameters. Read this articleThe Challenge of Designing Income Support Programs for the Self-Employed
