Tax
The federal government gives up about $30 billion in revenue through tax-based spending programs. This cost is split approximately one-third for measures promoting economic development and two-thirds for measures with a social objective. A tough but fair review of these measures could easily come up with about $6 billion in savings. As discussed in last […]
The federal government is in the midst of reviewing tax expenditures, assessing them against their fairness, efficiency and cost. It is a daunting task: The federal government identifies about 250 measures as tax expenditures, expected to cost about $140 billion in 2017. The task can be greatly simplified, however, by putting tax expenditures into three […]
The giant hole in the Alberta budget arising from the drop in oil prices and government revenues from non-renewable energy resources has spurred Albertans to think about possible ways of restoring the government’s fiscal health. Early off the mark with a suggestion was Dr. Richard Johnston, president of the Alberta Medical Association, who wants the […]