the toronto star

From a distance, it looks like a dirty trick. The United States leads the world into a negotiation for a global minimum tax. Eventually, painfully, everyone agrees to a complicated, finely-balanced pact that would ensure big multinational corporations all pay at least 15 per cent in taxes.

Canadian parliamentarians are taking a crack at squeezing out more government revenue from tax havens, and we wish them all the luck and stamina. Tucked away from the Conservative-to-Liberal floor-crossings and the nail-biting confidence-vote drama that have dominated this Parliament, MPs on the House of Commons finance committee were contemplating all the places where corporations put their profits.

We seem to have lost the plot when it comes to the link between the taxes we pay and the services we get. But not these three UBC students! In a contest to tackle a challenging public transit funding problem, they found themselves advocating for a bespoke (very small) tax hike.

PM Mark Carney says he wants to issue pre-filled tax forms for those in “simple” tax situations. But “simple” is in the eye of the beholder. In financial terms, “simple” can mean you probably don’t have intricate investments. You likely don’t owe the government money. Nor do you draw your income from multiple sources.

In this episode of the “It’s Political” podcast, host Althia Raj talks to the Canadian Tax Observatory for an overview and analysis of the federal budget, before diving into the politics of it all.

A budget’s long-term success depends on bringing the public along, and building trust with the very households, corporations and organizations the government needs to implement its budget decisions. That is especially true of this one.