One of the fundamental questions in business tax reform is whether to allow firms to immediately expense investments or require economic cost recovery. The conventional view is that expensing would generate stronger growth effects holding revenues constant. This view is rooted in traditional...

This paper studies the impact of market timing on Canadian firms' capital structure and makes a comparison with U.S. firms. There is no evidence that market timing affects Canadian firms' capital structure in the same manner as it affects their U.S. counterparts. The effect of past equity issues...

The paper provides estimates of the long-run, tax-adjusted, user cost elasticity of capital (UCE) in a small open economy, exploiting three sources of variation in Canadian tax policy: across provinces, industries, and years. Estimates of the UCE with Canadian data are less prone to the...

As the federal and provincial governments look to create jobs and attract business investment, productivity-enhanced business tax structures are in high order. Tax structures that combine internationally competitive tax rates on neutral tax bases foster long-term economic growth and generate...

The best and worst major Canadian cities for business investment as measured by overall tax burden are identified in a new report by authors Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson.Before a business decides to locate or expand in a given jurisdiction, it must consider the tax implications of such an...

The best and worst major cities for business investment are identified in a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Business Tax Burdens in Canada's Major Cities: The 2018 Report Card” authors Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson compare business tax burdens in 10 Canadian cities, the largest...

Saint John, Charlottetown, and Montreal have the highest tax burdens on new business investment amongst major Canadian cities, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Business Tax Burdens in Canada's Major Cities: The 2015 Report Card,” authors Adam Found, Peter Tomlinson and...