Economy
Government services faltering despite Ottawa’s tax hikes
From the Fraser Institute
By Matthew Lau
Compare this growth of almost 50 per cent to the growth rate of private-sector employment—from 2015 to 2023, combined growth for the private sector and self-employment was about 11 per cent.
According to a study published by the Fraser Institute, 44.6 per cent of the average family’s income will be consumed by taxes of all kinds in 2024. Thus June 13—which is 44.6 per cent of the way through the year—was “Tax Freedom Day.” In other words, on average, the work done and income earned from January 1 to June 12 is consumed by government. This tax bill, most Canadians believe, is too high, but alas a tax-happy federal government is unlikely to provide relief.
Indeed, the Trudeau government recently made another effort to push Tax Freedom Day further back into the year with its increase to capital gains taxes, adding to its long record of tax increases since coming to office in 2015. The list of tax hikes includes a new top income tax bracket in 2016, the carbon tax first imposed in 2019 and increased every year since, five consecutive annual Canada Pension Plan tax hikes from 2020 to 2024, special taxation of financial institutions imposed in 2022, continued threats of special taxation of grocery stores, and announced plans for a tax on share buybacks.
With such enthusiasm for tax hikes, it cannot be a surprise that since the Trudeau government took office in 2015, the number of employees at the Canada Revenue Agency increased from around 40,000 to almost 60,000 by 2023. Compare this growth of almost 50 per cent to the growth rate of private-sector employment—from 2015 to 2023, combined growth for the private sector and self-employment was about 11 per cent.
But alas, all these new taxes and government growth have not yielded positive results. From the third quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2024, growth in real GDP per-person (a common indicator of living standards) was less than 1 per cent cumulatively versus nearly 16 per cent in the United States. The productivity improvements that deliver sustainable economic growth rely on business investment, but that has badly stalled in Canada, too. Since the third quarter of 2015, real business investment in machinery, equipment and non-residential structures is down about 19 per cent on a per-person basis.
Nor have Canadians received improved government services as a result of higher taxes.
Health access is getting worse, with wait times for medical care continuing to increase. And even the Liberals have effectively admitted their national child-care program, which they began implementing in 2021, has created widespread shortages.
Similarly, on two core federal government functions—public safety and national defence—even as Canadians pay new and higher taxes, outcomes are dismal. Crime is rising and Canada’s military readiness is “dangerously inefficient.” In fact, at the end of last year the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy said it “faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture and readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond” and that “the air force and the army are facing similar challenges.”
And Canada’s passport offices continue to be in a state of disarray and the federal government has missed its own deadline for allowing Canadians to renew passports online.
Polling data show Canadians believe they pay too much tax. No one should be surprised. The Trudeau government’s new and higher taxes have contributed significantly to the country’s stagnating economy and declining business confidence, and have been accompanied by deteriorating government services across the board. Raising taxes won’t make things any better. Cutting taxes would.
Author:
Economy
Ottawa’s new ‘climate disclosures’ another investment killer
From the Fraser Institute
By Matthew Lau
The Trudeau government has demonstrated consistently that its policies—including higher capital gains taxes and a hostile regulatory environment—are entirely at odds with what investors want to see. Corporate head offices are fleeing Canada and business investment has declined significantly since the Trudeau Liberals came to power.
According to the Trudeau government’s emissions reduction plan, “putting a price on pollution is widely recognized as the most efficient means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Fair enough, but a reasonable person might wonder why the same politicians who insist a price mechanism (i.e. carbon tax) is the most efficient policy recently announced relatively inefficient measures such “sustainable investment guidelines” and “mandatory climate disclosures” for large private companies.
The government claims that imposing mandatory climate disclosures will “attract more private capital into Canada’s largest corporations and ensure Canadian businesses can continue to effectively compete as the world races towards net-zero.” That is nonsense. How would politicians Ottawa know better than business owners about how their businesses should attract capital? If making climate disclosures were a good way to help businesses attract capital, the businesses that want to attract capital would make such disclosures voluntarily. There would be no need for a government mandate.
The government has not yet launched the regulatory process for the climate disclosures, so we don’t know exactly how onerous it will be, but one thing is for sure—the disclosures will be expensive and unnecessary, imposing useless costs onto businesses and investors without any measurable benefit, further discouraging investment in Canada. Again, if the disclosures were useful and worthwhile to investors, businesses seeking to attract investment would make them voluntarily.
Even the government’s own announcement casts doubt that increasing business investment is the likely outcome of mandatory climate disclosures. While the government says it’s “sending a clear signal to corporate boards and shareholders, at home and around the world, that Canada is their trusted partner for putting private capital to work in the race to net-zero,” most investors are not looking to put private capital to work to combat climate change. Most investors want to put their capital to work to earn a good financial return, after adjusting for the risk of the investment.
This latest announcement should come as no surprise. The Trudeau government has demonstrated consistently that its policies—including higher capital gains taxes and a hostile regulatory environment—are entirely at odds with what investors want to see. Corporate head offices are fleeing Canada and business investment has declined significantly since the Trudeau Liberals came to power. Capital per worker in Canada is declining due to weak business investment since 2015, and new capital per-Canadian worker in 2024 is barely half of what it is in the United States.
It’s also fair to ask, in the face of these onerous polices—where are the environmental benefits? The government says its climate disclosures are needed for Canada to progress to net-zero emissions and “uphold the Paris climate target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels,” but its net-zero targets are neither feasible nor realistic and the economics literature does not support the 1.5 degrees target.
Finally, when announcing the new climate disclosures, Trudeau Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said they are an important stepping stone to a cleaner economy, which is a “major economic opportunity.” Yet even the Canada Energy Regulator (a federal agency) projects net-zero policies would reduce real GDP per capita, increase inflation of consumer prices and reduce residential space (in other words, reduce living standards).
A major economic opportunity that will increase business investment? Surely not—mandatory climate disclosures will only further reduce our standard of living and impose useless costs onto business and investors, with the sure effect of reducing investment.
Author:
Business
Premiers fight to lower gas taxes as Trudeau hikes pump costs
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Jay Goldberg
Thirty-nine hundred dollars – that’s how much the typical two-car Ontario family is spending on gas taxes at the pump this year.
You read that right. That’s not the overall fuel bill. That’s just taxes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keeps increasing your gas bill, while Premier Doug Ford is lowering it.
Ford’s latest gas tax cut extension is music to taxpayers’ ears. Ford’s 6.4 cent per litre gas tax cut, temporarily introduced in July 2022, is here to stay until at least next June.
Because of the cut, a two-car family has saved more than $1,000 so far. And that’s welcome news for Ontario taxpayers, because Trudeau is planning yet another carbon tax hike next April.
Trudeau has raised the overall tax burden at the pumps every April for the past five years. Next spring, he plans to raise gas taxes by another three cents per litre, bringing the overall gas tax burden for Ontarians to almost 60 cents per litre.
While Trudeau keeps hiking costs for taxpayers at the pumps, premiers of all stripes have been stepping up to the plate to blunt the impact of his punitive carbon tax.
Obviously, Ford has stepped up to the plate and has lowered gas taxes. But he’s not alone.
In Manitoba, NDP Premier Wab Kinew fully suspended the province’s 14 cent per litre gas tax for a year. And in Newfoundland, Liberal Premier Andrew Furey cut the gas tax by 8.05 cents per litre for nearly two-and-a-half years.
It’s a tale of two approaches: the Trudeau government keeps making life more expensive at the pumps, while premiers of all stripes are fighting to get costs down.
Families still have to get to work, get the kids to school and make it to hockey practice. And they can’t afford increasingly high gas taxes. Common sense premiers seem to get it, while Ottawa has its head in the clouds.
When Ford announced his gas tax cut extension, he took aim at the Liberal carbon tax mandated by the Trudeau government in Ottawa.
Ford noted the carbon tax is set to rise to 20.9 cents per litre next April, “bumping up the cost of everything once again and it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
“Our government will always fight against it,” Ford said.
But there’s some good news for taxpayers: reprieve may be on the horizon.
Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s promises to axe the carbon tax as soon as he takes office.
With a federal election scheduled for next fall, the federal carbon tax’s days may very well be numbered.
Scrapping the carbon tax would make a huge difference in the lives of everyday Canadians.
Right now, the carbon tax costs 17.6 cents per litre. For a family filling up two cars once a week, that’s nearly $24 a week in carbon taxes at the pump.
Scrapping the carbon tax could save families more than $1,200 a year at the pumps. Plus, there would be savings on the cost of home heating, food, and virtually everything else.
While the Trudeau government likes to argue that the carbon tax rebates make up for all these additional costs, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says it’s not so.
The PBO has shown that the typical Ontario family will lose nearly $400 this year due to the carbon tax, even after the rebates.
That’s why premiers like Ford, Kinew and Furey have stepped up to the plate.
Canadians pay far too much at the pumps in taxes. While Trudeau hikes the carbon tax year after year, provincial leaders like Ford are keeping costs down and delivering meaningful relief for struggling families.
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