Tag Archives: taxation
150 Years of Federal Consumption Taxation
In the run up to Canada Day and the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, here is another in a line of recent snapshots of the federal government – this time its consumption tax revenues. Why consumption taxes? Well, economists like to make the case for more emphasis on consumption taxation relative to income taxes, which […]
Tax Policy for Canadians with Disabilities: A Reading List
The amount of research on tax policy for Canadians with disabilities is fairly limited. Moreover, a number of key publications (such as the 2004 Brown and Torjman report) are hard to find. Thus, for my own convenience, and that of other researchers, I have created a reading list. Publications on this list are divided into […]
Toilets, Governments and Incentives
In my morning newspaper, I came across a hardware store flyer advertising a great new innovation – toilet with pump! Essentially, along with your regular toilet, an additional water storage tank and pump is installed that allows you to store recycled water used from your sink, tub, or shower and then use it when you […]
The impact of tax cuts on government revenues
An average person, asked to explain the impact of cutting taxes, might well reason: I have represented this argument in flow chart form to give it a spurious air of logical coherence. Yet any flow chart is only as good as the reasoning that underlies it. In this case, that reasoning is seriously incomplete.
The case for taxing basic groceries
Economists frequently argue that taxing basic groceries is a good idea – for example, see these papers/posts making the case for taxing food in the US, Canada, and New Zealand.
The concrete impacts of taxes
Between 1695 and 1851, the English government levied a tax on windows. The window tax was relatively easy to administer. A person's tax liability could be calculated by counting their windows. It had progressive elements. People with higher incomes had larger houses, and more windows, thus paid more in taxes. Houses with fewer than 10 (later […]
When is a ban a subsidy?
In the United States, surrogate mothers receive fees of about $20,000 to $25,000 for their services. In Canada, the U.K., Australia and a number of other countries, commercial surrogacy is outlawed, but surrogates are compensated for expenses, for example, clothing, food, prenatal vitamins, childcare, travel costs, lost wages, medications, medical bills, etc. In the U.K., reported expenses range […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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