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1. Canada’s finance minister apparently doesn’t understand the difference between taxes and transfers

   The job of finance minister requires a wide breadth of knowledge and clear understanding of public finance. So it’s more than a little worrisome to see federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) display an apparent lack of ...

2. If Shakespeare were writing today—‘let's kill all the (tax) lawyers’

   There was a lovely press release this week from Aaron Wudrick of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation warning us all that if we wanted to read the Income Tax Act before next week’s April 30 filing deadline, we’d better get started. And we’d ...

3. Ottawa using bounty of robust growth to simply boost spending

   The recently-released 2018 federal budget calls for growth in both spending and revenues. Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, total revenues are forecast to grow from $309.6 billion to $373.9 billion—an increase of 21 per cent. After a three ...

4. Call a spade a spade—CPP payroll tax is a tax

   Our recent study found that virtually all Canadian families with children will soon pay higher taxes due to federal income tax changes already in place and forthcoming increases to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payroll tax. If the ...

5. Ten year-end facts Canadians need to know

   As we end 2017, here are 10 year-end facts Canadians should understand and consider as we enter 2018: • The total tax bill for the average Canadian family will exceed $35,000 in 2017, or 42.5 per cent of their income—more than what the ...

6. Changing tax rules for diabetics—another missed opportunity for positive tax reform

   Many Canadians living with type 1 diabetes may see their income tax bill increase as a result of the Trudeau government’s revised interpretation of the Income Tax Act. According to Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier, “advances in ...

7. Professor conflates taxes with transfers—just like the Trudeau government

   In a recent commentary in the Financial Post titled “Misleading the middle class,” Simon Fraser University professor Rhys Kesselman criticized our analysis of how federal tax policy changes have increased the amount of income tax paid by ...

8. Business investment down, taxes up—bad news for Canadians

   With less than three months left in 2017, despite recent headlines espousing positive economic news, Canada’s economy faces many near and long-term challenges that the Trudeau government must consider as it crafts its fiscal update (due ...

9. Proposed tax changes targeting private corporations fall short of comprehensive reform

   Yesterday the Trudeau government wrapped up consultations on its proposed tax changes targeting private corporations. The proposed changes are best described as a piecemeal approach that falls well short of the type of comprehensive tax ...

10. Freedom takes a hit—we’re now tied with the Americans

    Well, that didn’t last long! For July 1st’s 150th birthday of Confederation I posted a piece about this country’s most impressive achievements, including how last year we were in 5th spot on the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the ...