Behind The Numbers delivers timely, progressive commentary on issues that affect Canadians, including the economy, poverty, inequality, climate change, budgets, taxes, public services, employment and much more. Contributors include staff and research associates from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The views expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the CCPA. Read more…
There is a nice little story tucked in to the pages of Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013. It’s a sweet tale of Thomas and Colleen and their two children. (I like to imagine those little stick-figure stickers on the back of their mini-van waving hello to their friends in happy economic-action-plan-land). This story is called “Canadian families keep more of their hard-earned dollars as a result of the government’s actions to reduce the tax burden.”
4 CommentsTags: Federal Budget·Gender Equality·Taxes and Tax Cuts
(Apologies if others have commented on this previously.)
The 2011 Tax Expenditures report by the federal Department of Finance includes an analysis of the progressivity of the federal personal income tax system.
What I find striking is just how weak the federal personal income tax is as a tool for shifting income from the affluent to the less affluent.
Table 8 shows that the top 20% of taxpayers have 54.2% of pre tax income, and 50.6% of after tax income. Meanwhile, the bottom 40% have 9.7% of before tax income and 12.0% of after tax income. So, in and of itself there is not a lot of redistribution going on despite the fact that the effective tax rate does increase somewhat in line with rising income.
Québec has been immersed in the last weeks in much drama following a proposal to further tax the wealthiest. When the brand new Marois government took office (Parti québécois, PQ), it announced it would introduce new tax brackets for the wealthiest. A first bracket would have been added for income falling between $130,000 and $250,000 (taxed at 28%) and another for income above $250,000 (31%). The government also proposed to review capital gain taxation to reduce the current exemption. In the end, the new measures shrunk considerably last week when Minister of Finance Nicolas Marceau reviewed his previous announcement.
1 CommentTags: 1%·fiscal justice·Income Inequality·quebec·Taxes and Tax Cuts
It’s difficult to overstate the significance of the Quebec student strike (the longest in North American history) and resultant public backlash against the provincial government’s Orwellian response.
Not that you’d know it. According to mainstream (predominantly) English media, Montreal is being held hostage by a handful of scruffy, possibly naked, hooky-playing slack-tivists who got distracted on the way to a door-crasher sale at the Apple store and decided to stop traffic while demanding their constitutional right to free lattes. Or something.
5 CommentsTags: Democracy·Economy & Economic Indicators·Education·Poverty and Income Inequality·Student strike·Taxes and Tax Cuts
Trish Hennessy is Director of Strategic Issues with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Several polls released this spring reveal the extent of concern among Canadians about worsening income inequality.
Most Canadians say that deep income inequality undermines Canadian values. The majority of Canadians tell pollsters they would support political leadership to reverse the trend.
But what, some ask, can be done about income inequality?
I turned to leading thinkers on this issue – starting with our own stable of experts from the CCPA, but broadening out to experts in housing, employment, taxes, child care, and poverty reduction – and asked them to submit an idea they think would contribute to reducing inequality.
6 CommentsTags: affordable housing·Child Care·Education·Income Inequality·minimum wage·poverty reduction. basic income·Taxes and Tax Cuts
Last week, I had the following letter in The Globe and Mail:
Oil sands royalties
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ most recent Statistical Handbook indicates that, in 2010, this industry sold $101-billion of oil and gas but paid only $12-billion in resource royalties.
Even Senator Pamela Wallin’s higher figure of $22-billion (Oil Sands’ Benefits – letter, May 12), which also includes general taxes applicable to all industries, amounts to only one-fifth of the resource value extracted by oil and gas companies.
No CommentsTags: Economy & Economic Indicators·Media·Saskatchewan·Taxes and Tax Cuts
This year, once again, I’ll celebrate my birthday as Canadians file their tax returns.
I was born on April 30th. And considering my line of work, that coincidence might be ironic. Or perhaps just particularly appropriate.
I know, I know. Taxes, right? But the thing is, I’ve never been one of those individuals who says the “t” word in the same tone of voice some people reserve for words like “larvae.” Or, I don’t know, “Ke$ha.”
Inequality has become a problem for all Canadians. Nationwide, 3.8% of households control about 67% of total financial wealth. The Conference Board of Canada recently addressed the issue, finding that, “High inequality can diminish economic growth if it means that the country is not fully using the skills and capabilities of all its citizens or if it undermines social cohesion, leading to increased social tensions.”
Inequality has been linked to social indicators like mental illness, drug use, obesity, teenage pregnancy, high school dropout rates, violent crime, youth crime, and imprisonment rates. It is in all our interests to build a level playing field for all Canadian residents.
No CommentsTags: Economy & Economic Indicators·Nova Scotia·Poverty and Income Inequality·Taxes and Tax Cuts
If you need help with your tax return, don’t ask Neil Reynolds. His latest attack on the New Democrat proposal to collect modestly more tax from Ontario’s super-rich stated that “the province’s highest marginal rate on personal income would rise, federal and provincial rates combined, from 46.4 per cent to 49.4 per cent – meaning that this rate would theoretically net $247,000 in revenue.”
The New Democrat proposal would actually produce a top combined marginal rate of 49.5%. (Reynolds got this figure right in his prior column on the subject.)
Last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS) released its flagship annual publication, the Nova Scotia Alternative Budget (NSAB).
This report brings together a wide range of experts, including economists, social scientists, community representatives and social advocates who propose a more inclusive, long-term and forward-thinking approach to the province’s revenue and expenditures.
The Nova Scotia government’s ‘back-to-balance’ plan is to balance the budget via across-the-board cuts of more than $772 million by 2013-2014, and it is estimated that it could result in at least 10,000 job losses. In contrast, the NSAB 2012: Forward to Fairness, makes strategic investments, which will create jobs and finds creative ways to save money and to increase revenue.
No CommentsTags: Child Care·Corporate Tax Cuts·Deficit·Economy & Economic Indicators·Education·Employment and Labour·Environment·First Nations Inuit and Metis·Health Care·Jobs·Nova Scotia·Poverty and Income Inequality·Taxes and Tax Cuts·Unemployment
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