General Tax Reform

The 1987 tax reform package considered.

This publication is intended to provide for the non-specialist a fresh look at provincial tax reform options and opportunities. Part I begins with the basic principles of tax reform, considering alternative objectives and general options in tax design. Part II examines the current differences among provincial economic circumstances and the tax structures. Part III deals with the process and implications of federal tax reform, from the 1987 proposals to the GST draft legislation.

This book presents 15 original papers and commentaries by a distinguished group of tax policy and tax administration experts. Using international examples, they highlight the state of knowledge of tax reform, present new thinking about the issue, and analyze useful policy options. The book’s general goal is to examine the current and emerging challenges facing tax reformers and to assess possible directions future reforms are likely to take. More specific themes include distributional issues, how to tax capital income, how to design specific taxes (e.g., the income tax, the value-added tax, the property tax), how to consider the politics and administrative aspects of tax reform, and how to combine the separate insights into comprehensive tax reform.