Many commentators claim BC Liberals are incompetent and ineffective. While true in ministries such as Justice and Children and Family Development, Liberals have been successful in the centerpiece of their strategic plan. Startlingly successful. In 2001, Gordon Campbell’s platform document promised a “business environment that is second to none” and
Continue readingTag: taxation
Northern Insight: Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–of cabbages–and kings
A paper produced for the Business Council of British Columbia in 2010 stated: “Since 2001, British Columbia’s natural gas sector has experienced nothing short of phenomenal growth…” Mineral production in the province has also trended upward, as demonstrated by this chart, prepared from government statistics: Despite this, government experienced one deficit
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Business genius talks
Warren Buffett, the world’s third richest man, appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart along with Carol Loomis, senior editor-at-large for Fortune and author of Tap Dancing to Work. A few quotes:
Warren Buffett:
“In the last ten years, I have…
Northern Insight: If BC Liberals lied before, can we believe them now?
In July 2009, Tom Fletcher of Black Press wrote about the HST announcement,
“Premier Gordon Campbell and Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced the change in Vancouver Thursday, presenting it as a revenue-neutral way to simplify the system for busines…
Northern Insight: The 47% watch
Willard Mitt Romney:
“…there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care…
Continue readingThe Progressive Right: Yes, the Manning Centre is a Registered Charity … Still
A Mennonite magazine, ‘Canadian Mennonite’, has received a warning from the Canadian Revenue Agency, about what articles and editorials it can publish, citing their pieces “appear to promote opposition to a political party, or to candidates for public office”. That’s a no-no under the rules for maintaining registered charity status. Meanwhile,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Time to Rethink The Way We Fund Higher Education
This September, like every year, a new group of high school graduates headed to college or university to pursue higher education. But today’s generation of students is in for a very different experience from the ones their parents had. On campuses across the country shiny new buildings are popping up,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: What’s Next for BC’s Carbon Tax?
The Minister leading up BC’s Carbon Tax Review, Kevin Falcon, may be gone – his departure came just as the deadline for submissions was closing – but the carbon tax lives on. For now. Back in 2008 when the carbon tax was announced, it was scheduled to rise from an
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Why Fair Taxation Is Crucial
Now here is something everyone who wants to be well-informed should watch. Part of TVO’s Big Ideas series, it is a talk entitled How Did Taxes Become a Bad Word? by Alex Himelfarb, Director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs at York University, former Clerk of the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canadian banks use of tax havens keeps growing
A growing share of Canada’s investment overseas is being channeled by Canadian banks into tax havens. The latest Statistics Canada figures show 24% of Canadian direct investment overseas in 2011 went to the top twelve tax havens, up from 10% in 1987. In fact, tax havens of the Barbados, Cayman Islands,
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: TFSAs: Cutting Taxes for the Affluent
The latest issue of the Canadian Tax Journal has a number of articles on Tax-Free Savings Accounts. Among the papers of interest: Kevin Milligan projects the potential tax impact of accumulated TFSA contribution room by estimating what a mature TFSA would have meant for income taxation in 2005. Even short
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Liars believe their own lies
Corporation That Paid Nothing In Taxes For Four Years Tells Congress It Pays Too Much In Taxes, Think Progress, July 20, 2012 “Over a four years period from 2008 to 2011, Corning Inc. was one of 26 companies that managed to avoid paying any American income taxes, even though it
Continue readingCalgaryLiberal: Cooperation, Strategic Voting, and Wishy-Washy Politics
I am a Liberal for a reason. I am a small business person (running a real-estate company worth some $2.1 million and a liquor store, in addition to other stuff I do on the side). This is coupled with a fundamental belief of mine, that I wrote on almost two
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Opposing Supply Management & Economic Principles
While supply management is bad for our economy, the discussion around it has at least managed to supply how the majority who oppose it are intellectually dishonest. For the Conservatives, libertarians, Liberals, and the like who are now so vocal in their opposition to supply management, a relatively minor economic
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Freedom from government services day
Well well, another misinformed tax freedom day has come and gone on June 12th. To mark the occasion this year I wanted to skip over the very serious methodological flaws that others have pointed out, and take a look at several other items that Canadians are “free of” at various points. By
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada’s Self-Imposed Crisis in Post-Secondary Education
On June 7, I gave a keynote address to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Education Sector Conference. My PowerPoint presentation (with full references) can be found at this link. Points I raised in the address include the following: -Canada’s economy has been growing quite steadily over the past three
Continue readingCalgaryLiberal: Conrad Black: Our Warren Buffet?
Freed from the US prison system Conrad Black is challenging Harper, Canada, and Americans on their failed policies. Particularly around prison reform. A businessman with good arguing skills, the chops to take on a government or two, and with the skills to spread his knowledge, Conrad Black may very well
Continue readingBlevkog: Nick Hanauer identifies the cart and the horse…
In his video that the TED series wouldn’t air as being ‘too political’, the venture capitalist Nick Hanauer points out the fallacy in the argument that the wealthy are ‘job creators’ and that taxing them provides hurts the economy. He argues that jobs are in fact the last thing a
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Mining in the NWT: Who Gets What?
In a recent blog post at Northern Public Affairs, Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox looks at the issue of ‘who gets what?’ when a mine is developed in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Here is an excerpt from the post: – The resource extractor: they pay royalties (the NWT has the lowest royalties in
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Mostly, it’s the schlemiels paying tax
Many working stiffs watch a third or more of every extra dollar earned disappear as income tax. Then, we’re hammered again with user fees and consumption taxes when we spend shrunken dollars to buy goods at prices far higher than what our neighbours pay south of the 49th parallel for
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