The Economic and Social Environment for Tax Reform

David Robinson is an economics professor and dean of the Faculty of
Social Sciences at Laurentian University.

These three volumes are the result of the Ontario Fair Tax
Commission’s comprehensive examination of the Ontario tax system.
Although they were produced for the late NDP government, they provide a
sound background for anyone concerned with the evolution of tax policy
in Ontario.

The Economic and Social Environment for Tax Reform contains four
valuable pieces—two on the global economy, one on the Ontario economy,
and one on the aging population. The three articles in Taxation and the
Distribution of Income examine tax incidence in Ontario; one of these
articles focuses on the relationship between welfare and the tax system,
while another provides an unusual analysis of high-income taxpayers.
Issues in the Taxation of Individuals contains a masterful review of how
taxes affect migration, a study of compliance and enforcement, a
theoretical piece on equity and the tax mix, and a discussion of whether
the family should be given special treatment. Two more pieces report
simulation results on harmonizing the PST and the GST and the revenue
and distributional impact of a wealth tax for Ontario.

Serious policy wonks will be attracted by the list of 18 authors. The
general reader should be advised that the articles are fairly technical.
All have useful bibliographies and could serve as introductions to
specific topics for senior students in applied public finance courses.