Search

Search results

1. 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 ...

2. Realities of carbon pricing in Canada and beyond

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, March 6, 2017 There’s a general, indeed a strong consensus, within the economic community that a properly designed carbon tax can both reduce emissions and improve the economy. We broadly agree with this academic analysis. ...

3. B.C.’s budget—an opportunity to make the carbon tax revenue neutral again

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, February 20, 2017 This week the B.C. government will release its budget, and if last week’s Throne Speech is any indication, tax cuts may be on the way. This is welcome news, since it’s an opportunity for the government to ...

4. B.C.’s carbon tax not the ‘gold standard’ it’s made out to be

   Appeared in the Financial Post, February 16, 2017 In a major announcement last year, the Trudeau government imposed a policy that will require all provinces to put a price on carbon emissions by 2018. As governments in Canada and elsewhere pursue carbon ...

5. Examining the Revenue Neutrality of British Columbia's Carbon Tax

   British Columbia’s carbon tax is often praised as a model for other jurisdictions to follow, in part due to its alleged revenue neutrality. However, in the eight years since it was introduced, the offsetting tax measures used in the government’s revenue ...

6. Federal tax increases draining the pockets of Canada’s middle class

   You really have to scratch your head and wonder. For a government that claims to want to cut taxes on Canada’s middle class, the Trudeau Liberals are doing a bang up job of increasing them. The latest potential tax hike could come from ...

7. The federal government should reform taxes, not raise them

   Fresh after delivering his update Tuesday on the state of Canada’s economy and public finances, Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) has already began musing about next year’s federal budget. According to media reports, Morneau ...

8. Spending by stealth through tax expenditures in Canada

   Hardly anyone noticed when the federal government appointed a committee of economists, accountants and lawyers to advise it on tax expenditures. This is not surprising because few people understand or even care about them. But they ...

9. Two-thumbs down for Manitoba film tax credits

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Sun, February 8, 2016 Manitobans should understand that film tax credits are not worthy of support because they are really just unsustainable corporate subsidies. This past summer, Manitoba's NDP government announced they ...

10. Fewer gimmicks, more transparency needed in Ottawa

    Appeared in the Calgary Herald, New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, Winnipeg Free Press, Waterloo Region Record, and Guelph Mercury No normal person pays close attention to who is "in" or "out" as finance minister, and that's a good ...