We are an independent non-profit devoted to helping people and policymakers understand the tax system. Through research, public education and collaboration, our goal is to advance a tax system that promotes economic growth, shared prosperity and tax fairness.
Budget 2026: Growth, prosperity, simplicity, and a big bet on investors
Budget 2026 bets big on tax incentives to ignite an investment supercycle, capped by the new Canada Growth Incentive for founders and investors. It also tops up support for low-income households and attempts to simplify some elements of the tax system. We look at the measures through the lenses of growth, shared prosperity and simplicity, and ask: will investors step up?
Canada’s underground economy: why some businesses fail to report income
From FACT: Lindsay Tedds on the underground economy. Read on for her remarks and a link to her full brief. On Oct. 28, 2026,
Canada’s tax-deferral boom will cost us billions in revenue. Is the payoff worth the price?
Hitting snooze on the tax bill can be lucrative for taxpayers, but we need to look at the economic impact too.
The Fair and Accountable Canadian Taxation (FACT) Partnership is a new collaboration bringing together academics and public policy practitioners to inform and deepen Canada’s discussions about fair taxation.
Researchers at the University of Calgary, Carleton University and Universite de Sherbrooke are working with the Canadian Tax Observatory and Social Capital Partners to produce and share rigorous research and accessible evidence on the fairness and accountability of Canada’s tax system.
The three-year collaboration is partly funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Our first package of material proposes a new framework to evaluate the full value of changes in the tax system.
Five ideas for tax simplicity
A simpler tax system can help regular people pay their taxes accurately, collect their benefits and participate in the fiscal space with confidence. But simplification could also mean removing safeguards or mitigation measures that were put in place to ensure fairness and prevent fraud.
Hitting Snooze on the Tax Bill: Understanding tax deferrals in Canada
Tax deferrals let Canadians act now and pay tax later, but they don’t always serve their purpose. Hitting Snooze on the Tax Bill sorts Canada’s tax deferrals into seven families and sets out where closer scrutiny is needed: capital gains, passive corporate investments and estate arrangements.
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