Fixing the Fiscal Imbalance: Turning GST Revenues Over to the Provinces in Exchange for Lower Transfers
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v3i0.42348Résumé
The central argument of this paper is that Canada should better align provincial own-source revenues with provincial expenditures by turning over the GST to the provinces while simultaneously reducing federal transfers. The paper begins by broadly outlining of Canada's present fiscal arrangements and explains why a reduction of cash transfers and realignment of federal and provincial tax rates – in short, a transfer of tax points – would benefit the federation. It reviews past tax point transfers and then addresses the question of why transferring GST revenues is superior to other alternatives using the principles of tax assignment as the guide. It lays out two comprehensive proposals for transferring GST revenues, with the key difference being the way in which the GST transfer is equalized across provinces. It shows the impact on Ottawa and the provinces of these two proposals for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. It highlights the benefits of these changes from a federal, provincial and taxpayer perspective with a special focus on one of Canada's major expenditure challenges what to do about public health spending.
Références
Baylor, Maximilian, and Louis Beausejour, Taxation and Economic Efficiency: Results from a Canadian CGE Model, Working paper, Department of Finance (2004).
Bird, Richard M., Taxation in Latin America: Reflections on Sustainability and the Balance between Efficiency and Equity, ITP Paper 0306, International Tax Program, (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, June, 2003).
Bird, Richard M., Taxing Sales Twice: International Experience with Multilevel Sales Taxes, in State Tax Notes (2005), 37 (11), 803-09.
Bird, Richard M. and Pierre-Pascal Gendron, CVAT, VIVAT, and Dual VAT, in International Tax and Public Finance, (2000), 7: 753-61.
Bird, Richard M. and Pierre-Pascal Gendron, VATs in Federal Countries: International Experience and Emerging Possibilities, in Bulletin for International Fiscal Documentation, (2001), 55(7,): 293-309.
Bird, Richard M. and Pierre-Pascal Gendron (forthcoming), Value-Added Taxation in Developing and Transitional Countries, (Cambridge University Press).
Bird, Richard M. and Kenneth J. McKenzie, Taxing Business: A Provincial Affair? (Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute, 2001).
Bird, Richard M. and Eric Zolt, Redistribution via Taxation: The Limited Role of the Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries, in UCLA Law Review, (2005), 52 (6): 1627-95.
Browning, Edgar K., Inequality and Poverty, in Southern Economic Journal (1989), 55: 819-30.
Chen, Duanje and Jack Mintz, Assessing Ontario’s Fiscal Competitiveness, a paper prepared for the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (2003).
Dalhby, Bev, Dealing with the Fiscal Imbalances: Vertical, Horizontal, and Structural, Working paper, C.D. Howe Institute (2005).
Ebrill, Liam et al., The Modern VAT (Washington: International Monetary Fund, 2000).
Keen, Michael and Stephen Smith, Viva VIVAT! in International Tax and Public Finance (2000), 7 (6): 741-51.
McLure, Charles E., Implementing Subnational VATs on Internal Trade: The Compensating VAT (CVAT), International Tax and Public Finance, (2000), 7 (6): 723-40.
Mintz, Jack and Michael Smart, Income shifting, investment, and tax competition: Theory and evidence from provincial taxation in Canada, in Journal of Public Economics 88(6), (June 2004), 1149–1168.
Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Fairness in Confederation: A roadmap to recovery, unpublished working paper (2005).
Robinson, A.J., The Retail Sales Tax in Canada (Toronto: Canadian Tax Foundation, 1986).
Sharpe, Andrew, Linkages Between Economic Growth and Inequality: Introduction and Overview, in Canadian Public Policy 29 (Supplement, 2003).
Smart, Michael, Federal Transfers: Principles, Practice, and Prospects, C.D. Howe Working Paper, (September, 2005).
Winer, Stanley L., Some Evidence on the Effect of the Separation of Spending and Taxing Decisions, in Journal of Political Economy, (1983), 91: 126-40.
Téléchargements
Publié-e
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
The following is the copyright statement of SPPP.
Copyright © <Author name> <year>. This is an open-access paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC 4.0, which allows non-commercial sharing and redistribution so long as the original author and publisher are credited.
Publication Copyright and Licensing
The following guidelines and information, provided in six sections, are intended for authors (the “Author”) who are invited to write a paper (the “Work”) for The School of Public Policy Publications (the “Publisher”). The rights and responsibilities conveyed in the SPP Author Agreement will only apply once your paper is accepted for publication. At that point in the publication process, you will be asked to download the form and return a signed copy via e-mail to spppublications@ucalgary.ca. Please review the below information to ensure agreement with SPPP policies.
Section 1: Author’s Grant of Rights
In consideration of the Publisher’s agreeing to publish the Work in The School of Public Policy Publications, the Author hereby grants to the Publisher the following:
1.1 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to publish, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform and distribute the Work in perpetuity throughout the world in all means of expression by any method or media now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format;
1.2 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to use the Author’s name and likeness in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials related to the Work; and
1.3 The irrevocable, royalty-free right to license others to do any or all of the above.
Section 2: Prior Publication & Publication by Others
2.1 The Author agrees not to publish the Work, or authorize any third party to publish the Work, either in print or electronically, prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher.
2.2 The Author agrees not to publish the Work in any publication outlet which is substantially similar to The School of Public Policy Publications for a period of six (6) months after publication of the Work in The School of Public Policy Publications. Substantially similar is defined as a non-subscription, open-access publication outlet with a similar mandate/vision and intended audience.
2.3 Should the Author publish or distribute the Work elsewhere at any time or in any alternate format, the Author agrees to contact The School of Public Policy Publications to inform them of the subsequent publication.
2.4 Should the Author publish or distribute the Work elsewhere at any time or in any alternate format, the Author agrees to make reasonable efforts to ensure that any such additional publication cites the publication in The School of Public Policy Publications by author, title, and publisher, through a tagline, author bibliography, or similar means. A sample acknowledgement would be:
“Reprinted with permission from the author. Originally published in the The School of Public Policy Publications, http://www.policyschool.ca/publications/.”
Section 3: Editing and Formatting
The Author authorizes the Publisher to edit the Work and to make such modifications as are technically necessary or desirable to exercise the rights in Section 1 in differing media and formats. The Publisher will make no material modification to the content of the Work without the Author’s consent.
Section 4: Author’s Ownership of Copyright and Reservation of Rights
4.1 Nothing in this agreement constitutes a transfer of the copyright by the Author, and the copyright in the Work is subject to the rights granted by this agreement.
4.2 The Author retains the following rights, including but not limited to, the right:
4.2.1 To reproduce and distribute the Work, and to authorize others to reproduce and distribute the Work, in any format;
4.2.2 To post a version of the Work in an institutional repository or the Author’s personal or departmental web page so long as The School of Public Policy Publications is cited as the source of first publication of the Work (see sample acknowledgement above).
4.2.3 To include the Work, in whole or in part, in another work, subject to Section 2 above and provided that The School of Public Policy Publications is cited as the source of first publication of the Work (see sample acknowledgement above).
4.3 The Editors and Editorial Board of The School of Public Policy Publications requires authors to publish the Work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the Work for noncommercial purposes, and ensures the Author is credited for the original creation. This onward licensing is subject to section 2.4 of this agreement, which further ensures that the original publisher is credited.
Section 5: Author’s Warranties and Undertakings
The Author warrants that:
5.1 The Author is the sole author of the Work, or if a joint author, the Author has identified within the Work the other authors, and holds the copyright, either solely or jointly, and has the power to convey the rights granted in this agreement.
5.2 The Work has not previously been published, in whole or in part, except as follows:
5.3 Any textual, graphic or multimedia material included in the Work that is the property or work of another is either explicitly identified by source and cited in the Work or is otherwise identified as follows:
5.4 To the best of the Author’s knowledge, the Work does not contain matter that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory; it does not violate another’s civil right, right of privacy, right of publicity, or other legal right; and it is otherwise not unlawful.
5.5 To the best of the Author’s knowledge, the Work does not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property or literary rights of another.
5.6 The Author will indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss, damages, expenses, awards, and judgments arising from breach of any such warranties.
Section 6: The Reuse of Third-Party Works
The Publisher requires that the Author determine, prior to publication, whether it is necessary to obtain permissions from any third party who holds rights with respect to any photographs, illustrations, drawings, text, or any other material (“third-party work”) to be published with or in connection with your Work. Copyright permission will not be necessary if the use is determined to be fair dealing, if the work is in the public domain, or if the rights-holder has granted a Creative Commons or other licence. If either the Author or Publisher determines for any reason that permission is required to include any thirdparty work, the Author will obtain written permission from the rightsholder.
