Trump victory means Canada must get serious about tax reform

Following Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election, lower taxes for both U.S. businesses and individuals will be at the top of his administration’s agenda. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Trudeau has raised taxes on businesses and individuals, including with his recent capital gains tax hike.

Clearly, Canada and the United States are now moving in opposite directions on tax policy. To prevent Canada from falling even further behind the U.S., policymakers in Ottawa and across Canada should swiftly increase our tax competitiveness.

Before the U.S. election, Canada was already considered a high-tax country that made it hard to do business. Canada’s top combined (federal and provincial) personal income tax rate (as represented by Ontario) ranked fifth-highest out of 38 high-income industrialized (OECD) countries in 2022 (the latest year of available data). And last year, Canadians in every province, across most of the income spectrum, faced higher personal income tax rates than Americans in nearly every U.S. state.

Our higher income tax rates make it harder to attract and retain high-skilled workers including doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs. High tax rates also reduce the incentives to save, invest and start a business—all key drivers of prosperity.

No doubt, we need reform now. To close the tax gap and increase our competitiveness, the federal government should reduce personal income tax rates. One option is to reduce the top rate from 33.0 per cent back down to 29.0 per cent (the rate before the Trudeau government increased it) and eliminate the three middle-income tax rates of 20.5 per cent, 26.0 per cent and 29.0 per cent.

These changes would establish a new personal income tax landscape with just two federal rates. Nearly all Canadians would face a personal income tax rate of 15.0 per cent, while top earners would pay a marginal tax rate of 29.0 per cent.

On business taxes, Canada’s rates are also higher than the global average and uncompetitive compared to the U.S., which makes it difficult to attract business investment and corporate headquarters that provide well-paid jobs and enhance living standards. According to Trump’s campaign promises, he plans to lower the federal business tax rate from 21 per cent to 20 per cent (and reduce the rate to 15 per cent for companies that make their products in the U.S.). Trump must work with congress to implement these changes, but barring any change in Canadian policy, business tax cuts in the U.S. will intensify Canada’s net outflow of business investment and corporate headquarters to the U.S.

The federal government should respond by lowering Canada’s business tax rate to match Trump’s plan. Moreover, Ottawa should (in coordination with the provinces) change tax policy to only tax business profits that are not reinvested in the company—that is, tax dividend payments, share buybacks and bonuses but don’t touch profits that are reinvested into the company (this type of business taxation has helped supercharge the economy in Estonia). These reforms would encourage greater business investment and ultimately raise living standards for Canadians. Finally, given Canada’s massive outflow of business investment, the government should (at a minimum) reverse the recent federal capital gains hike.

Of course, there’s much to quibble with in Trump’s policies. For example, his tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy (and likely Canada’s economy), and tax cuts without spending reductions and deficit-reduction will simply defer tax hikes into the future. But while policymakers in Ottawa can’t control U.S. policy, Trump’s tax plan will significantly exacerbate Canada’s competitiveness problem. We can’t afford to sit idle and do nothing. Ottawa should act swiftly in coordination with the provinces and pursue bold pro-growth tax reform for the benefit of Canadians.

Authors:

Jake Fuss

Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute

Alex Whalen

Director, Atlantic Canada Prosperity, Fraser Institute

Related Topics:#AlexWhalen #FraserInstitute #JakeFuss TrumpCanada USCanadaBusinessTax USCanadaIncomeTax USCanadaTaxReform

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DOGE discovered $330M in Small Business loans awarded to children under 11

Published on March 30, 2025

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MxM News

Quick Hit:

In a bombshell revelation at a White House cabinet meeting, Elon Musk announced that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had uncovered over $330 million in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans issued to children under the age of 11.

Key Details:

Elon Musk stated that DOGE found $330 million in SBA loans given to individuals under the age of 11.
The youngest recipient was reportedly just nine months old, receiving a $100,000 loan.
SBA has now paused the direct loan process for individuals under 18 and over 120 years old.

Diving Deeper:

At a cabinet meeting held Monday at the White House, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk detailed a staggering example of federal waste uncovered by the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency. Speaking directly to ongoing efforts to eliminate corruption and abuse in federal agencies, Musk explained that the SBA had awarded hundreds of millions in loans to children—some of whom were still in diapers.

“A case of fraud was with the Small Business Administration, where they were handing out loans — $330 million worth of loans to people under the age of 11,” Musk said. “I think the youngest, Kelly, was a nine-month year old who got a $100,000 loan. That’s a very precocious baby we’re talking about here.”

DOGE’s findings forced the SBA to abruptly change its loan procedures. In a post on X, the department revealed it would now require applicants to include their date of birth and was halting direct loans to those under 18 and above 120 years old. Musk commented sarcastically: “No more loans to babies or people too old to be alive.”

The discovery was just the latest in a series of contract cancellations and fraud crackdowns led by DOGE. According to Breitbart News, DOGE recently canceled 105 contracts totaling $935 million in potential taxpayer liabilities. The agency’s website currently lists over 6,600 terminated contracts, accounting for $20 billion in savings.

The president praised Musk and DOGE for rooting out government inefficiencies, noting his administration was focused on “cutting” people and programs that were not working or delivering results. “We’re not going to let people collect paychecks or taxpayer funds without doing their jobs,” Trump said.

Also during the cabinet session, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed her department had eliminated a $300,000 program aimed at teaching “food justice” to transgender and queer farmers in San Francisco. “I’m not even sure what that means,” Rollins said, “but apparently the last administration wanted to put our taxpayer dollars towards that.”

These revelations highlight what many conservatives have long suspected—that during prior administrations, including under President Joe Biden, massive amounts of federal funding were funneled into unserious, ideologically-driven projects and mismanaged government programs. Under the Trump administration’s second term, DOGE appears to be living up to its mission: trimming fat, exposing fraud, and putting American taxpayers first.

Business

Cuba has lost 24% of it’s population to emigration in the last 4 years

Published on March 30, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

A new study finds Cuba has lost nearly a quarter of its population since 2020, driven by economic collapse and a mass emigration wave unseen outside of war zones. The country’s population now stands at just over 8 million, down from nearly 10 million.

Key Details:

Independent study estimates Cuba’s population at 8.02 million—down 24% in four years.
Over 545,000 Cubans left the island in 2024 alone—double the official government figure.
Demographer warns the crisis mirrors depopulation seen only in wartime, calling it a “systemic collapse.”

Diving Deeper:

Cuba is undergoing a staggering demographic collapse, losing nearly one in four residents over the past four years, according to a new study by economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos. The report estimates that by the end of 2024, Cuba’s population will stand at just over 8 million people—down from nearly 10 million—a 24% drop that Albizu-Campos says is comparable only to what is seen in war-torn nations.

The study, accessed by the Spanish news agency EFE, points to mass emigration as the primary driver. In 2024 alone, 545,011 Cubans are believed to have left the island. That number is more than double what the regime officially acknowledges, as Cuba’s government only counts those heading to the United States, ignoring large flows to destinations like Mexico, Spain, Serbia, and Uruguay.

Albizu-Campos describes the trend as “demographic emptying,” driven by what he calls a “quasi-permanent polycrisis” in Cuba—an interwoven web of political repression, economic freefall, and social decay. For years, Cubans have faced food and medicine shortages, blackout-plagued days, fuel scarcity, soaring inflation, and a broken currency system. The result has been not just migration, but a desperate stampede for the exits.

Yet, the regime continues to minimize the damage. Official figures from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) put Cuba’s population at just over 10 million in 2023. However, even those numbers acknowledge a shrinking population and the lowest birth rate in decades—confirming the crisis, if not its full scale.

Cuba hasn’t held a census since 2012. The last scheduled one in 2022 has been repeatedly delayed, allegedly due to lack of resources. Experts doubt that any new attempt will be transparent or complete.

Albizu-Campos warns that the government’s refusal to confront the reality of the collapse is obstructing any chance at solutions. More than just a demographic issue, the study describes Cuba’s situation as a “systemic crisis.”