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Tax rates affect people’s behavior. High taxes contribute to lower rates of economic growth, reduced rates of personal income growth, lower rates of capital formation, and reduced entrepreneurship. Provinces and countries are constantly competing for investment dollars, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers, so British Columbia must maintain a competitive tax system to ensure the province remains an attractive place to work and do business. This submission examines BC’s performance relative to other provinces in three key areas of taxation (business taxes, property taxes, and personal income taxes) and provides recommendations for reform in each area.

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The 2012 Fraser Institute Global Petroleum Survey presents the results of the Fraser Institute’s 6th annual survey of petroleum industry executives and managers regarding barriers to investment in upstream oil and gas exploration and production in various jurisdictions around the globe. The survey responses have been tallied to rank provinces, states, and countries according to the extent of the investment barriers. Those barriers, as identified by the survey respondents, include high tax rates, costly regulatory schemes, uncertainty over environmental regulations and the interpretation and administration of regulations governing the petroleum industry, and security threats. 

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The estimated cost of waiting for care in Canada for patients who were in the queue in 2011, was $1.08 billion—an average of about $1,144 for each of the estimated 941,321 Canadians waiting for treatment in 2011. Alternatively, that cost works out to roughly $10,399 for each individual among the 11.0% of patients in the queue who were suffering considerable hardship while waiting for care.

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The Report Card on Alberta’s High Schools 2012 collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one, easily accessible public document so that anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual schools. The Report Card assists parents when they choose a school for their children and encourages and assists all those seeking to improve their schools.

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In 2012, Canadians celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 11. That is, Canadians will have worked until June 10 to pay the total tax bill imposed on them by all levels of government. On Tax Freedom Day, the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes imposed on it by the three levels of government: federal, provincial, and local.

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In the United States, Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (MCOOL) was brought into force in 2008. Because of the bill, American retailers must inform consumers about the country of origin of various classes of meat products including muscle cuts of beef, pork, and lamb, as well as chicken, fish products, and other perishable food items.

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Fraser Forum is a monthly review of public policy in Canada, with articles covering taxation, education, health care policy, and a wide range of other topics. Forum writers are economists, Institute research analysts, and selected authors, including those from other public policy think tanks.