Policy Forum: A Tax Shift--The Case for Rebalancing the Tax Treatment of Earnings and Housing Wealth

Paul Kershaw ()
Additional contact information
Paul Kershaw: School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Canadian Tax Journal, 2018, vol. 66, issue 3, 585-604

Abstract: This study encourages provincial and/or federal governments to shift the balance of revenue generation to rely proportionately less on taxing earnings in favour of more annual (deferrable) taxation of housing wealth. The author argues that this shift would help to address three concerns: (1) the growing gap between local earnings and home prices; (2) the growth in inequality driven by returns to housing capital; and (3) inequalities that result from violations of the intergenerational golden rule in government budgeting. To support this tax shift, the author suggests design considerations by reflecting on housing wealth surtaxes introduced by the government of British Columbia in 2018 and a "million-dollar homes tax" alternative that he proposes in order to stimulate further discussion.

Keywords: Property taxes; wealth taxes; housing; tax mix; tax equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.ctf.ca/EN/Publications/CTJ_Contents/2018CTJ3.aspx (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctf:journl:v:66:y:2018:i:3:p:585-604

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
Canadian Tax Foundation, 145 Wellington Street West, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 1H8
https://www.ctf.ca/E ... ns_ListingBooks.aspx

Access Statistics for this article

Canadian Tax Journal is currently edited by Kim Brooks, Kevin Milligan, and Daniel Sandler

More articles in Canadian Tax Journal from Canadian Tax Foundation Canadian Tax Foundation, 145 Wellington Street West, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 1H8.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jim Lyons ().