Search Results

Double the Pain: How Inflation Increases Tax Burdens by William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin Inflation and taxation are a painful combination. Money losing its purchasing power hurts on its own, but tax provisions that ignore inflation can multiply the pain for earners, savers, and recipients of benefit programs as well. This E-Brief identifies problematic interactions between inflation and…

The Study In Brief Due to rapid digitalization across the economy and an aging population, Canada faces digital and STEM skills shortages. The COVID-19 pandemic has also intensified the need for digital and STEM skills and contributed to the existing shortages. These skills shortages can hurt businesses and affect economic growth. To respond, Canada needs to increase its supply of people with…

Less for Ottawa, More for Canadians: The C.D. Howe Institute’s 2024 Shadow Budget The federal government’s 2023 Fall Economic Statement confirmed a troubling lack of concern about fiscal excess. It presented no credible plan to lower spending and borrowing to levels that would ensure fiscal sustainability and make room for tax changes to boost Canada’s stagnating productivity and living…

The Study In Brief  This E-Brief analyzes the expected fiscal and behavioural consequences of the significant reforms proposed for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in the 2023 federal budget.  The 2023 budget asserts that the “AMT will more precisely target the very wealthy.” Our findings indicate that the new AMT regime will primarily fall on individuals who report occasional…

The Study In Brief Tax rules requiring RRIF withdrawals need revamping. Longer lives and lower returns increase the likelihood that mandatory minimum withdrawals will leave seniors with negligible income from their tax-deferred saving in their later years. Government impatience for revenue should not force holders of RRIFs and similar tax-deferred vehicles to deplete their nest eggs prematurely…

The Study in Brief To make informed decisions, policymakers need reliable and robust economic data, and researchers at the C.D. Howe Institute have created many unique data sets for their analyses and recommendations over the years. This Commentary brings together some novel data series from previous C.D. Howe Institute studies to provide third parties, including the Bank of Canada, the Office…