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1. Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 9, 2017

   In 2017, the average Canadian family will earn $108,674 in income and pay a total of $47,135 in taxes (43.4%). If the average Canadian family had to pay its total tax bill of $47,135 up front, it would have worked until June 8 to pay the total tax ...

2. Canadians spend billions complying with complex personal income tax system

   Appeared in the Financial Post, April 27, 2017 With the tax-filing deadline just around the corner, it’s worth reflecting on how much the personal income tax (PIT) has changed since it was first introduced 100 years ago. For example, Ottawa now collects ...

3. Trump’s tax plans stall—along with growth prospects in the U.S. and Canada

   In early January, President Trump restated his campaign pledge that he would cut taxes “massively.” Trump’s pledge to reduce taxes has been seen as a major factor in the increase in U.S. equity prices. From Trump’s election until early ...

4. William Watson: the way we were—a small government taxing consumption

   The federal budget of 1917, Canada’s last without an income tax, was brought down on April 24 of that year, just 12 days after what many regard as the country’s coming of age at the battle of Vimy Ridge. In his budget speech, which, like ...

5. Hiking capital gains taxes—bad for the economy and Canada’s middle class

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, March 21, 2017 In the lead up to today’s federal budget there have been on-going rumours that the federal government will raise capital gains taxes. Despite misperceptions that hiking capital gains taxes will only affect ...

6. Policies from Ottawa harming Canada’s economic prospects

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, March 2, 2017 The Trudeau Liberals campaigned heavily in 2015 on improving the economy, particularly for middle-class Canadians. This is a laudable goal and one with which we agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, many of ...

7. Yes, Alberta’s tax advantage is gone

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, January 7, 2017 The Fraser Institute recently released a study documenting the erosion of Alberta’s once substantial tax advantage. Specifically, it showed that, until recently, Alberta benefitted from uniquely competitive and ...

8. The End of the Alberta Tax Advantage

   This paper examines the extent to which the tax policy changes introduced in Alberta in 2015 have diminished Alberta’s tax advantage relative to peer jurisdictions. Specifically, we compare key tax rates in Alberta before and after the recent tax policy ...

9. New federal polices worsen old problem of discouraging work in Canada

   Appeared in the Financial Post, August 31, 2016 Last month the federal government’s new Canada Child Benefit program came into force, replacing and consolidating an assortment of previous programs. However, little attention has been given to how this ...

10. ‘Anti-tax’ accusation is simply wrong

    Appeared in the Toronto Star, August 30, 2016 A recent column by the Toronto Star editorial board had some choice words about a recent Fraser Institute study finding that the total amount of taxes paid by the average Canadian family now consumes over 42 ...