Posts Tagged ‘economy’

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To bolster health, would basic income — not pharmacare — make more sense?

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

… shouldn’t the priority of policy-makers be to ensure that all Canadians can afford necessities such as food and housing, not just prescription drugs? … Affordable sickness care is important, especially if you’re sick. But the way to keep people healthier longer is to ensure that they have a decent income, a roof over their heads, healthy food, a good education, a sound physical environment and sense of belonging.

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What is the problem to which creating a wealth tax is a solution?

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

The stock of wealth in a country is typically many multiples of the flow of income; its concentration in a few hands is likewise greater. The top one per cent earn roughly 20 per cent of America’s income, but control 40 per cent of its wealth. They also pay 40 per cent of the income tax, but never mind: by taxing their wealth as well, vast sums of money could ostensibly be raised from relatively few people, and at relatively low rates.

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Why universal pharmacare will help get Canada’s drug costs under control — and why Big Pharma hates it

Saturday, June 22nd, 2019

It might be more accurate to say we can’t afford to go without it… The Hoskins report estimates an annual savings of about $5 billion in total drug spending once universal pharmacare is fully implemented… And it would strengthen employers’ ability to hire and properly compensate employees. Employer contributions to drug plans generally reduce worker pay.

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Canadian corporations may have avoided $25-billion or more in taxes in 2018: PBO

Friday, June 21st, 2019

Canadian companies transferred more than $1.6-trillion in 2018 to low-tax countries known as offshore financial centres and conduits to these nations, according to a new report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer… if just 10 per cent of that amount was transferred to avoid taxes, that would mean Ottawa lost out on $25-billion in federal revenue. Billions more would have been lost in provincial corporate taxes.

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Wealth Tax A Flawed Idea With New Life: C.D. Howe Institute

Friday, June 21st, 2019

They find that wealth taxes add relatively little to what taxes on capital income can achieve, and that concerns about the social consequences of wealth concentration are better addressed by reform of existing capital income taxes and by considering wealth transfer (inheritance) taxation… In those few nations that continue to have a wealth tax, its proceeds have decreased over time.

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Fiscal Accountability: The Path Forward

Thursday, June 20th, 2019

Public Accounts Should Reflect Public Sector Accounting Standards… Budgets Should Match Financial Statements… Budgets Should Precede the Start of the Fiscal Year… Estimates Should Be Timely and Reconcile with Budgets… Key Numbers Should Be Accessible and Recognizable… Year-End Results Should Be Timely

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Canadian companies failed to pay billions of taxes owed, new CRA report reveals

Tuesday, June 18th, 2019

Canadian corporations failed to pay between $9.4 billion and $11.4 billion in taxes in 2014, according to the first comprehensive analysis of the country’s corporate “tax gap” — the difference between taxes legally owed and those collected — being released today by the Canada Revenue Agency. That means 24 to 29 per cent of all the corporate income tax legally due in Canada didn’t get paid that year.

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Every child left behind: How education cuts fuel inequality

Friday, June 14th, 2019

… good fiscal sense includes eliminating inequalities that cost economies and challenge political stability. Stiglitz cites the OECD, which estimates that “in countries like the U.S., the U.K. and Italy, overall economic growth would have been six to nine percentage points higher in the past two decades had income inequality not risen.” And in a 2018 Gallup study, countries with greater income inequality, the Economist found, also report higher incidences of assault, theft and concerns about personal safety.

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Putting values into practice on pharmacare will come at a cost

Friday, June 14th, 2019

The catch is that there would be a massive shift of drug costs from private plans to public plans, an “incremental public cost” of $15.3-billion… Practically, it also means the feds would have to raise taxes by at least $15-billion a year. That, not poor values, is the single biggest impediment to national pharmacare. The other related hurdle is that a national plan would require an unprecedented level of federal-provincial-territorial co-operation.

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Pharmacare today, like medicare 50 years ago, makes sense

Friday, June 14th, 2019

In terms of cost overall, most experts agree that a universal, single-pay system would save money for Canadians… But a universal public program would also shift costs from individuals and employers to governments… Canadians would pay more in taxes for universal drug coverage. But this tax increase would be more than compensated for by the out-of-pocket, administrative and cost savings associated with the move to public pharmacare.

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