Government Spending & Taxes

— Jul 26, 2024
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Costs and Benefits of Reducing Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Canadian Agriculture

Costs and Benefits of Reducing Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Canadian Agriculture finds that the federal government’s plan to lower nitrous oxide emissions in the Canadian agricultural sector will impose costs in excess of $1.6 billion, but will provide no measurable benefit in lower GHG emissions. In fact, nitrous oxide emissions make up just 4.5 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and only 0.07 per cent of global GHG emissions.

— Jul 16, 2024
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New Federal Fiscal Framework for Canada

A New Federal Fiscal Framework for Canada finds that if the federal government reduced program spending by only 2.3 per cent over two years and eliminated a host of tax expenditures, it could balance the budget and reduce personal income tax rates affecting most Canadians.

— Jul 3, 2024
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Measuring Progressivity in Canada’s Tax System, 2024

Measuring Progressivity in Canada’s Tax System, 2024 finds that despite common misperception, the top 20 per cent of income-earning families pay a larger share of total taxes (54.2 per cent) than their share of income (46.4 per cent).

— Jun 28, 2024
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The Case for Replacing British Columbia’s Inefficient Provincial Sales Tax with a Made-in-BC VAT

The Case for Replacing British Columbia’s Inefficient Provincial Sales Tax with a Made-in-BC VAT is a new study that finds replacing the current B.C. Provincial Sales Tax with a Harmonized Sales Tax (or a Value Added Tax) would reduce taxes on business inputs, particularly machinery and equipment, which discourages investment, lowers productivity, and slows economic growth. Removing this tax on machinery and equipment could increase annual incomes in B.C. by an estimated $700 to $1,700 per worker.

— Jun 20, 2024
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Alberta’s ‘Spending Restraint’ in Perspective

Alberta’s “Spending Restraint” in Perspective is a new study that finds although the Alberta government’s current plan to restrain program spending increases is a constructive way to bring provincial spending more in line with sustainable revenues, doing so will be hindered by increases in per person spending introduced over the last two years. In fact, program spending this year will reach $14,334 per Albertan, which is $1,603 more per person (inflation-adjusted) than the government planned to spend this year as outlined in the 2022 mid-year budget update.

— Jun 13, 2024
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Tax Freedom Day measures the total annual tax burden imposed on Canadian families by federal, provincial, and municipal governments. This year, it arrives on Thursday, June 13—four days later than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

— Jun 4, 2024
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Federal Support for Journalism

Federal Support for Journalism, by Senior Fellow Lydia Miljan, is the latest essay in the Institute’s series on federal policy reforms. It documents the changing media landscape in Canada in recent years, and highlights why federal subsidies for the industry are bad policy.

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