How Progressive is the Canadian Personal Income Tax? A Buffett Curve Analysis
"How Progressive is the Canadian Personal Income Tax? A Buffett Curve Analysis,"
The 2021 Canadian Public Policy Lecture
Canadian Public Policy, Volume 48 Issue 2, June 2022, pp. 211-224.
Abstract:
This article addresses the burden of tax revenue in Canada with particular attention to income taxes at the top of the income distribution. Theory, methodology, and measurement are central to the discussion. I find that the Canadian personal income tax is progressive and satisfies the Buffett rule comparing the top of the income distribution with the middle. In the bottom half of the distribution, issues of measurement are pivotal to characterizing the tax burden. At the top of the distribution, incidence assumptions based on different theories of capital mobility are paramount and have a large impact on measured progressivity.