Value-Added Taxation: Issues and Impact for Canadian Mines

Leslie McGrath was a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

Brenda Dyack is an economic analyst, consultant, and lecturer.

This working paper examines the impact of the Canadian government’s proposed replacement of the manufacture’s sales tax with the business transfer tax (BTT), a version of the value-added tax. The author outlines a number of advantages that the BTT is expected to offer, and uses a mine model to demonstrate projected profit increases. Practical administrative problems are also outlined. The study supports the BTT but does not address the question of compliance costs, nor does it discuss the BTT in the larger context of a major tax reform initiative in Canada.