James Hausman Tax Law & Policy Workshop - Speaker: Michael Veall

JAMES HAUSMAN TAX LAW & POLICY WORKSHOP

presents

Michael Veall
McMaster University Department of Economics

Top Share Inequality in Canada:
The Implications of Some Tax Preferences

12:30 - 2:00
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Room FA3, Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park

According to Canadian taxfiler data, over the last thirty years there has been a surge in the income shares of the top 1%, top 0.1% and top 0.01% of income recipients, even with longitudinal smoothing by individual using three- or five-year moving averages.  Top shares fell in 2008 and 2009, but only by a fraction of the overall surge. Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario have much more pronounced surges than other provinces.  Part of the Canadian surge is likely attributable toU.S. factors, but a comprehensive explanation remains elusive. Even so, I draw implications for policies that might achieve some support from across the political spectrum, including the elimination of tax preferences that favour those with high incomes, the promotion of shareholder democracy and, to maintain Canada’s relatively high intergenerational mobility, continued wide accessibility to healthcare and education.

A light lunch will be provided.

For more workshop information, please contact Nadia Gulezko at n.gulezko@utoronto.ca.