Sales Tax Reform in Ontario: The time is Right

Putting an end to Ontario’s archaic retail sales tax and adopting a value-added tax like the GST would sharply lower the effective tax rate on new business investment and offer the province a much-needed economic boost.sales tax, VAT, consumer prices

The Time is Still Right for BC’s HST

British Columbia is on the right track with its controversial move to a harmonized sales tax (HST), according to this report. The authors say the shift to a value-added tax mirrors patterns in most of the developed world, and helped move the province from being a high tax, investment-unfriendly jurisdiction, to one which is domestically and internationally competitive – a more attractive home for investment and jobs. Consumption taxes like the HST in BC impose smaller burdens on the economy, per dollar of government revenue, than alternatives such as old-style retail sales taxes or taxes on personal and business incomes. For this and other reasons, conclude the authors, BC residents are well served by the new HST.Fiscal and Tax Competitiveness, British Columbia (Province), harmonized sales tax (HST)

What Has Happened to Quebecers’ Marginal Effective Tax Rates?

More than a decade after Quebec and the federal government implemented significant personal income tax rate reductions, what has happened to Quebecers’ take-home pay? This paper answers the question by looking at marginal effective tax rates (METRs) on personal income, which measure the impact of federal and provincial income taxes combined with the impact of reductions and clawbacks of income-tested tax credits and benefits. Income-tested credits and benefits mostly target financial support to low-to-middle income families with children and to low-income seniors. However, clawbacks and rate reductions apply to those credits and benefits as incomes rise above set thresholds, raising METRs for those income groups and family types. Overall, METRs are lower than a decade ago, but for many low-to-middle income Quebec families with children, they are higher. The province’s residents generally face the highest tax rates in the country, with an average METR in 2011 exceeding the national average by four percentage points.Fiscal and Tax Competitiveness, Province of Quebec, marginal effective tax rates (METRs)

Still High: Marginal Effective Tax Rates on Low-Income Families

Most federal and provincial government benefits for families with children are sharply income-tested. Reductions in these benefits, as family income rises, mean that low-income families face much higher effective tax rates than most others do, and deny such families the full benefit of the broad-based tax rate relief other Canadians have enjoyed in recent years.social policy, Marginal Effective Tax Rates, tax relief initiatives

Berufliche Weiterbildung im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung

Die sukzessive Digitalisierung großer Arbeitsbereiche ist mittlerweile in der öffentlichen Diskussion angekommen und eine Abschätzung der Folgen für Gesellschaft und Institutionen fällt immer noch schwer. Dieser Beitrag thematisiert die soziale Dimension dieser Entwicklung und stellt sich der Frage, welche Folgen dies für Beschäftigte mit sich bringt und was schließlich die Anforderungen an institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen und (Bildungs-) Politik sind, die sich aus der fortschreitenden Neustrukturierung der Arbeitswelt ergeben

Approaches to Shadow Banking Regulation - Monitoring and Policy Framework

In the recent years the shadow banking system had moved into the focus of regulators. New regulatory approaches affected the overall appearance of financial markets. The G20 detected the shadow banking system as remaining issue for sound and efficient regulation to ensure a stable financial system. The FSB was tasked to develop, in collaboration with other standard setting bodies, a policy framework to monitor and supervise shadow banking activities and entities. This work aims to outline the proposed recommendations of five workstreams and reflect their relevance critically

International Policy Responses to the Financial Crisis: A Canadian Perspective

The relative soundness of the Canadian domestic financial system throughout the crisis suggests that Canada’s regulatory framework does not require a major overhaul. But Canada could benefit if other countries introduced reforms to improve their macroeconomic stability. Other reforms are needed.international policy, monetary policy, Bank of Canada

The Shadow Banking System - Survey and Typological Framework

Even though the sector of Non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFI) or shadow banks represent a large part of the contemporary financial system, these institutions received almost no attention in macroeconomic studies so far. Their presence has significant influence on the conduct of monetary policy and systemic risk within the financial system. Therefore, it is important to understand the nexus within the shadow banking sector and connections with the traditional banking sector. This work will examine specific institutions involved in the shadow banking system and their development. A stylized banking sector including NBFI will be introduced and provides the starting point for subsequent research on monetary transmission

Marking to Market for Financial Institutions: A Common Sense Resolution

Debate has intensified in recent years on the advantages and disadvantages of moving towards a full mark-to-market accounting system for banks and insurance companies. The debate has been heated by moves by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board to harmonize accounting standards across countries. Proponents contend that mark-to-market accounting has the advantage of reflecting the relevant value of financial institution balance sheets, allowing regulators, investors and other users of accounting information to better assess their risk profile. Opponents counter that mark-to-market accounting leads to excessive and artificial volatility, especially when regulatory standards such as bank capital ratios are tied to reported accounting numbers.mark-to-market accounting, accounting standards, financial markets

What's My METR? Marginal Effective Tax Rates Are Down - But Not for Everyone: The Ontario Case

The marginal effective tax rate (METR) on personal income, explain the authors, measures the impact, on take-home pay, of federal and provincial income taxes combined with the impact of reductions and clawbacks of income-tested tax credits and benefits as individual or family income rises. These income-tested credits and benefits mostly target financial support to low- and middle-income families with children, or to low-income seniors. As their income rises past prescribed thresholds, clawbacks and reductions begin, raising the METR on each dollar of incremental income above the threshold. Policymakers interested in keeping down METRs overall, say the authors, should consider reinvigorating the personal income tax relief imperative, rather than implementing or expanding targeted benefits that make general tax relief more difficult to achieve.Fiscal and Tax Competitiveness, marginal effective tax rate (METR), Province of Ontario