Category Tax policy
The Long Hand of Medieval Economic Thought…
In the current Ontario election campaign, both the Ontario Conservatives and the NDP have put in their platforms pledges to remove the HST from home hydro bills and home heating. It is argued that these items are not luxuries and that the HST has made life less affordable for families. The NDP goes a step […]
Taxation and other forms of sacrifice
The most minimal form of government is a night watchman state: a government that provides law and order, and lets markets take care of the rest. But are people willing to pay the taxes and make the sacrifices required to support even this most rudimentary level of public services?
Is There a Hauser’s Law for Canada Too?
Economics has a number of “Laws” floating around that are rooted in empirical observation and then put forth as natural inexorable systemic laws. For example, in public finance, there is Wagner’s Law of Expanding State Activity, which links the size of the public sector to income. In health economics, there is Roemer’s Law, which […]
Why is there HST on used furniture?
The harmonized sales tax is a value added tax. At each stage of production, the government collects taxes on the value added at that stage. Suppose, for example, a carpenter buys $10,000 worth of wood, makes it into furniture, and sells the furniture for $15,000. At a 12% tax rate, the carpenter pays $1,200 HST […]
Resolving the U.S. Fiscal Crisis
The current debate in the United States over their budget deficit and debt does not appear to be generating solutions that will solve their problem anytime soon. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of President Obama’s budget proposals, the deficit under the President’s proposals would at first fall, but after 2015 would begin to […]
Functional Finance vs the Long Run Government Budget Constraint
(I had been planning to write this post before Steven Landsburg started a whole blogosphere argument about what taxes are for. Honest!) Functional Finance says you only use taxes if you want to reduce Aggregate Demand to prevent inflation. The Long Run Government Budget Constraint says you use taxes to pay for past, present or […]
A rant about EI premiums
It's her first job. She paid $105 last year in Employment Insurance premiums. But she worked fewer than 910 hours. So she wouldn't be eligible to claim EI, even if she was laid off. It's not fair that she has to pay premiums, but receives no entitlement to benefits in return.
Understanding Victim Fine Surcharges
In Canada, people who break the law pay a “victim fine surcharge.” For federal offences, the surcharge is 15 percent of any fine imposed. For criminals who are not fined, a set surcharge of $50 or $100 is imposed, depending upon the severity of the crime. The funds raised through these fines stay in the […]
Tax choices in the OECD
The CBC's vote compass has attracted a certain amount of attention and not a small amount of controversy. I like these sorts of exercises, even if the questions aren't always well-posed. So here are some 'tax compasses'. I'm not going to even try to set up some sort of interactive questionnaire, because everyone's preferred tax […]
Tax unfairness or income unfairness?
The Conservative Party of Canada has announced that, if elected, they would allow families to "share up to $50,000 of their household income for federal tax purposes." (This tax change would be implemented in about four years time.) In tax lingo, this means income splitting. A family where one person has an income of $110,000 […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Recent Comments