With economic growth slowing and a goal of balancing the budget by 2015, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will have little fiscal room for major new initiatives in Thursday's federal budget. The risk is that the Conservatives continue with their fondness for new and/or expanded tax credits which have been sprinkled through federal budgets over much of the past five or six years (i.e Working Income Tax Credit, and tax credits for family caregivers, children's arts and fitness, and volunteer firefighters to name but a few).
taxes
March 19, 2013
3:00AM
February 16, 2013
2:00AM
There might be a thousand reasons why people hate sales taxes. Here are three: First, theyre visible; second, in Alberta, where no provincial sales tax exists, there is justifiable pride that people have escaped at least one tax applied elsewhere in Canada; third, many Albertans rightly fear that if a government introduced a new tax, it would be just another way to separate taxpayers from their money and to spend more and inefficiently so.
February 9, 2013
2:00AM
Whenever Canadians cross the border, it is inevitable they will find cheaper goods in the United States. Whether milk, books, electronic goods or vehicles, it seems bargains abound south of the 49th parallel.
The Canadian Senate has just done a bang-up job of adding hard data to anecdotal observations on this issue. In a recent report, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance found several reasons for higher Canadian prices, including higher regulations in Canada and higher taxes. (The latter explains the difference in gasoline and diesel prices at the pump, for example.)
February 2, 2013
2:00AM
The last time Alberta was in a fiscal mess due to low energy revenues and over-the-top government spending, some politicians and pundits said what Albertans really needed was higher taxes. That was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those voices were wrong then and they are wrong now.
For one thing, any fantasy that a tax hike will solve Albertas fiscal woes is the preserve of people who dream in tax-happy Technicolor.
Sure, tax reform is desirable. A provincial sales tax would be smart economic policy since sales taxes are some of the least harmful imposts.
January 25, 2013
2:00AM
The uncertainty that continues to impede the U.S. recovery coupled with political gridlock in Washington poses significant economic threats to not only the United States but also countries like Canada that trade with the U.S. However, imbedded within the many layers of risks lies a significant, long-term opportunity for Canada.
January 2, 2013
2:00AM
A policy issue that permeated political debates around the world in 2012 was the idea of raising taxes on high-income earners. In the U.S., it stood front and centre in President Obamas re-election. Several governments in Europe went beyond debate and introduced higher tax rates. Here at home, higher taxes on upper-income earners have been proposed at the federal and many provincial levels; Ontarios government recently instituted a new tax on those earning more than $500,000.
December 27, 2012
2:00AM
Question: Have you ever felt annoyed at a restaurant when your bill arrived with a mandated tip, thus removing your (monetary) ability to comment on the service? If so, that's about how governments act vis-à-vis travel costs for Canadians, this when governments prevent full competition which would reduce prices.
For example, consider a trip the average Canadian family might take this holiday season.
October 16, 2012
2:00AM
Last month, British Columbias Expert Panel on Business Taxation delivered its much anticipated final report (at least among us policy wonks). Unfortunately, the report garnered little media attention and failed to spark much debate about BCs tax competitiveness.
The Expert Panel was appointed early this year by then-Finance Minister Kevin Falcon; it was made up of a cross-section of people from business, academia, and government to provide recommendations on how BCs business taxes could be made more competitive given the return of the PST in 2013.
July 9, 2012
2:00AM
When the PST rears its ugly head on April 1, 2013, British Columbias tax competitiveness will be dealt a major blow as the cost of the investing in the province increases dramatically. Unfortunately, the well-being of BC families will be negatively affected in many ways none more important than the adverse impact the PST will have on investment in machinery, equipment, and technology the backbone of a healthy economy.