Search

Search results

1. Risky business—the clean tech gamble

   Governments across Canada are betting big (carbon tax) money on clean tech. Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have all directed funds from carbon pricing into ventures promoting “clean tech” (a.k.a. technology that provides ...

2. The high cost of raising revenue through Canada’s personal income tax

   The personal income tax (PIT) is the single largest source of revenue for Canadian governments, but it also has a major impact on the level and growth of personal income. The PIT influences a wide range of important economic decisions ...

3. If the Leafs and Raptors lose, you should blame… the government?

   It’s well known that high personal income tax rates discourage work, entrepreneurship, investment and other activities that contribute to economic growth. It’s also well-established that high marginal income tax rates can make it harder ...

4. Ontario housing measures—too much on demand, too little on supply

   The Ontario government yesterday announced a raft of measures aimed at cooling the cost of buying or renting in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Topping the list—a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers (conveniently called “non-resident ...

5. Despite likely balanced budget, Ontario’s deficit dragon not dead yet

   Finance Minister Charles Sousa will deliver Ontario’s spring budget on April 27 and the expectation is that Ontario will deliver a balanced budget for the first time since the onset of the Great Recession. Ontario has now run nine ...

6. Personal income taxes and the capital gains tax

   Numerous studies have demonstrated the high costs imposed on economies that maintain capital gains taxes, particularly those such as Canada that are relatively small and trade-oriented. The source of these costs is that capital gains ...

7. Expanding rent controls in Ontario will further damage housing affordability

   There’s growing interest at Queen’s Park for the expansion of rent controls to address high rents in Ontario’s biggest cities. Most recently, Premier Kathleen Wynne (pictured above) expressed skepticism that a former Ontario government’s ...

8. Ontario government subsidizing sector it’s been demonizing

   So, here’s the thing. In terms of public policy, Ontario’s government is engaging in what can only charitably be referred to as public policy “inconsistency.” On the one hand, Ontario is officially in the forefront of green energy and ...

9. Lower taxes instead of business subsidies in Ontario? Let’s drink to that

   This morning, the Ontario government announced a $4.9 million program to subsidize the growth of small cideries and distilleries in the province. Finance Minister Charles Sousa noted that the subsidies would support a thriving small ...

10. Ontario’s Ring of Fire could spawn thousands of jobs for several decades

    Ten years ago, one of the largest mineral deposits was discovered about 400 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario. The so-called “Ring of Fire” was supposed to be a game-changer in the Ontario and Canadian economy. The ...