Session II of the Mont Pelerin Society 1983 Regional Meeting.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Episcopal Commission for Social Affairs) is to be congratulated for its recent report, Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the quantitative issues involved in a flat-rate tax system and to determine what would be the effects of the adoption of such a system in Canada. Evidently, many of the problems involved in the adoption of such a system are political and involve the activities of pressure groups, and special interests. It is not the intention of this paper to consider the political ramifications of a flat-rate tax. Moreover, this paper should be regarded as a preliminary assessment rather than the final word.