bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Altering the Tax Mix in Alberta
Authors: McKenzie Ken 
Published: August 2024

The purpose of this paper is to examine alternative ways of raising government revenue in Alberta. There are several ways to approach this question. One would be to adopt a revenue neutral perspective, which would focus on the design and configuration of the tax system without a view to raising more revenue; a so-called revenue neutral perspective. Another would be to evaluate various options from the perspective of raising sufficient revenue to eliminate or reduce the deficit going forward, or more generally to close the fiscal gap, in order to put the government on a sustainable fiscal path. Neither of these approaches is followed here.

While the first approach is in some ways more pure from a tax policy perspective it is possible that at least a modest increase in revenues will be required to put the government on a sustainable fiscal path. Moreover, there are several moving parts to the revenue system, and it is very difficult in this context to accurately take account of the various interactions. In terms of the second approach, it is not clear precisely how much higher revenues should be relied upon versus lower spending to restore fiscal sustainability. As Trevor Tombe puts it in a recent analysis of the sustainability of Alberta’s fiscal policy, “the province has neither a revenue problem nor a spending problem; it has a budget problem.”[1] This problem can be addressed from the revenue side, the expenditure side or a combination of both. I don’t take a strong position on this.

Rather I examine some of the key sources of government revenue and evaluate various policy options that would alter the tax mix without imposing a hard constraint of revenue neutrality or the need to generate a given amount of revenue to close the fiscal gap. In some cases I argue for tax reductions and in others for tax increases. The focus is on “first principles”, drawing on what economic research on tax policy has to say about implementing an efficient and equitable tax system within an Alberta context. Of course, as will be discussed, this inevitably involves trade-offs and, also inevitably, some disagreement on the nature of those trade-offs. The net impact on total revenue from the type of changes I discuss in what follows may be positive or negative, but the magnitude of the revenue gains can be scaled up or down by adjusting rates appropriately; the first-principles laid out here provide guidance on how best to go about that.

Based on my analysis, and as a preview of my conclusions, I argue the following:

Cut the corporate income tax rate as planned.
Keep the full provincial carbon tax.
Maintain the progressive rate structure in the personal income tax (no flat tax), but consider a “middle class” personal income tax cut.
Impose a harmonized provincial sales tax.

While it is not the focus of the paper, I also argue for reintroducing systematic contributions of resource revenue to a stabilization fund, and eventually the Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

[1] Tombe (2018).
Canada's Food Security During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Holland Kerri 
Published: August 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has garnered public attention to Canada’s food security. Access to a safe, stable, and high quality food supply is often taken for granted by Canadians but it is one of the key roles that our agricultural industry serves and underlines why it is designated an essential service.
Despite the federal government’s assurance that our nation’s food supply remains stable, concerns have been mounting from both consumers and the agricultural industry that disruptions in the food supply chain will cause food insecurity and severe economic distress.
As a whole, Canada’s agri-food industry is well-positioned to adapt to the present crisis and continue supplying domestic and export markets. However, this does not mean that our food system is impermeable to disruption. In fact, challenges caused by COVID-19 have highlighted vulnerabilities in the food supply chain. Labour shortages, major shifts in consumer demand, and the slowdowns/closures at processing plants have already exacerbated food insecurity among Canadians and increased financial pressure on primary producers.
As the foundation of the food supply chain, Canadian farmers are key to its stability. As many farms were experiencing severe economic hardship prior to the pandemic, the challenges of market uncertainty and increased production costs put these operations at greater financial risk. Policy action will be key to ensure the short and long-term viability of our primary industry and maintain the capacity to meet domestic and export market demands.
Canada is still in the early stages of crisis management but government support of Canadian agriculture has been largely inadequate in alleviating the financial impact on farmers. The Canadian government must take immediate steps to alleviate the financial burden on primary producers, ensure export markets remain open and free from trade barriers, and commit to establishing a long-term agri-food strategy and action plan.
AN OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF KEY CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELEVANT TO THE CANADIAN NORTHERN CORRIDOR
Authors: Newman Dwight 
Published: August 2024

This report considers at a high level a number of constitutional issues associated with the development of the proposed Northern Corridor, seeking to flag areas for further examination. It seeks to show how the Canadian Constitution offers mechanisms for such a multi-modal corridor but also poses barriers. In some ways, the challenge the Northern Corridor seeks to overcome is the presence of too many decision-makers on each individual transportation infrastructure project. The Canadian Constitution both offers ways past this problem and also replicates it. The first part of the paper examines constitutional rules relating to inter-delegation between the federal and provincial governments and suggests that cooperation and inter-delegation, drawing on models of past infrastructure projects, may offer a constitutional mechanism toward development of the Northern Corridor but that they require leadership and a lot of support from different actors. The second part considers what powers the federal government has on its own in relation to transportation infrastructure and concludes that these are very significant in the context of interprovincial/international transportation infrastructure but that unilateral federal action may still be undesirable for other reasons and that this power may just signal the role of federal leadership on the file. The third part considers the implications of constitutionalized Indigenous rights and suggests that there will be a need for close examination of various contexts and early engagement of Indigenous peoples in a project that could be beneficial for northern Indigenous communities, with many legal complexities otherwise present, including implications from Canada’s new legislation on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). A concluding section draws together key implications and suggests that the constitutional landscape calls for federal leadership but extensive engagement and cooperation with other actors, even while there remain many constitutional and legal issues that would warrant closer examination.
A Guaranteed Basic Income for Canadians: Off the Table or Within Reach?
Authors: Stevens Lee , Simpson Wayne , Stevens Harvey , Emery Herb 
Published: August 2024

Pilot projects in the past that have experimented with a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) in Manitoba and Ontario, and a recent study of the feasibility of a GBI in British Columbia, indicate that provinces are not in an ideal position to successfully implement an affordable and effective GBI. However, a GBI implemented by the federal government, financed by eliminating the GST credit and lowering personal tax exemptions, could be both effective and affordable. It could also do so without requiring the elimination of those provincial social assistance programs that are more deeply targeted toward people’s needs. By using its revenue powers, the federal government could create more fiscal capacity for the provinces to provide other cash and in-kind social supports, allowing for greater provincial benefit targeting.
The federal government’s centrality in designing and implementing tax structures and collecting tax revenue make it singularly suitable for administering and delivering a GBI. Financing the GBI by eliminating the modest GST credit and lowering the current basic personal income tax exemption could provide a significant reduction in the rate, depth and intensity of poverty in Canada, without imposing an excessive tax burden on Canadians. If provinces use the GBI as a replacement for certain less-targeted provincial social assistance income transfers, the freed-up payments and reduced caseloads could also allow provinces to target more effectively those needs not addressed by the GBI.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic exposed longstanding gaps in Canada’s income- support frameworks, with lower-income workers facing exceptional economic vulnerability. At the same time, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit proved edifying in terms of how to best design a basic-income program. In addition, the federal government’s experiences with the poverty-reducing impacts of the Canada Child Benefit, the Old Age Supplement and the Guaranteed Income Supplement have moved Canada closer than ever to a workable GBI. While it comes with additional costs, those costs will be less burdensome than many GBI skeptics might believe. They must also be put into perspective, by comparing them against the costs of current and, in many cases ineffective income transfers and, just as importantly, against the human cost of leaving more Canadians living in poverty.
Departures From Neutrality in Canada’s Goods and Services Tax
Authors: Smart Michael 
Published: August 2024

With recent accessions to the federal-provincial Harmonized Sales Tax, provinces with valueadded taxes (VATs) now comprise over two-thirds of the national economy. While Canadian VATs are economically superior to the taxes they replaced, they are not as well designed as in other countries. An efficient VAT is a uniform tax on all consumer (but not business) purchases. Although the OECD has reported that Canada’s VAT is one of the most efficient in the world, that assessment was based on data shown here to be misleading. In reality, Canada’s VATs have large exemptions, rebates and rate preferences that reduce revenues and hamper productivity. If all these tax preferences were eliminated, government VAT revenues would increase by as much as $39 billion, or more than 50 percent. Moreover, taxing consumer commodities at a single rate reduces opportunities for tax evasion, simplifies tax compliance, and in most cases increases economic productivity. Given the fiscal and productivity challenges currently facing Canadian governments, a new look at VAT design is clearly warranted. This paper offers a detailed assessment of the effects of the tax on the economy, and it proposes a number of specific, feasible reforms to the GST-HST system.
Smart Environmental Policy with Full-Cost Pricing
Authors: Olewiler Nancy 
Published: August 2024

Canada’s natural capital — its resources, ecosystems and wildlife — are indispensable to the productivity of industry. Despite this, both the public and private sectors have failed to adequately factor in the consequences of production and consumption on the natural environment. There is a growing need for full-cost pricing, a system that adjusts market prices to reflect not only the direct costs of good and services, but also their impact on this country’s natural capital. As this paper argues, the onus is on the federal government to create the conditions for full-cost pricing to succeed. Ottawa needs to eliminate energy subsidies (to producers and consumers), implement full-cost pricing on air contaminants and greenhouse gases and encourage projects at the provincial and municipal levels that adopt that methodology. The benefits include productivity gains; potentially billions in savings for consumers, businesses and governments; a strong environment supporting sustainable industries; and simplified tax systems. In surveying past and existing federal initiatives and missed opportunities in previous budgets, this paper assesses costs and consequences, arguing that a healthy environment is synonymous with a healthy economy, and providing hard data to back up that conviction. With Budget 2012 just around the corner, the time is ripe for the Harper government to introduce full-cost pricing, and guarantee Canada a brighter future.
Canadian Manufacturing Malaise: Three Hypotheses
Authors: Krzepkowski Matt , Mintz Jack M. 
Published: August 2024

The danger in politicians promoting the idea that “Dutch Disease” is responsible for the decline of the Ontario manufacturing sector is that the suggestion implies that Canada’s manufacturing sector will bounce back if only we could slow down oil sands development, or if the Canadian dollar were to devalue. In reality, evidence suggests that the decline in Ontario manufacturing is the result of long-term structural changes in the economy, independent of the rise of the country’s natural-resource sector and the rising dollar. And the sooner policymakers realize that, and stop blaming the decline in manufacturing on Dutch Disease (which holds that a booming natural-resource sector that drives up our dollar makes our manufacturing exports less competitive) the sooner they can get to work on helping manufacturing-dependent regions transition to the evolving economy. A closer analysis of Canada’s manufacturing sector shows that jobs in that sector have been disappearing across the country since the end of the Second World War, with the sector’s share of employment falling dramatically well before rapid development began to take hold in the oil sands, and back when Canada’s dollar was still worth far less than the American dollar. It is a trend that has been occurring among most of our OECD peers, including the United States, which may be due to the widespread reallocation of production to lower cost countries. But it is also true that Canada’s manufacturing productivity performance in particular has been declining for a generation, with especially poor performance in the last decade, when labour productivity in Canada grew at just a quarter of the U.S. rate. Meanwhile, capital investment that may have improved the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturing has been anemic. Yet there is no particular reason to lament the scaling-down of manufacturing jobs in Ontario. The province remains just as economically important, as a share of national GDP, as it was 30 years ago, and its unemployment rate has remained roughly in line with the Canadian average. Often the manufacturing jobs that disappear soonest are low-skill, low-paying jobs. Indeed, those workers that have remained in the sector have done very well, with the growth in weekly earnings in the Ontario manufacturing sector outpacing the national average. It would be a grave mistake for Ontario’s policy-makers to argue in favour of hampering Canada’s oil sands development in hopes that it might devalue the dollar and revive their province’s shrinking manufacturing base. It would harm the national economy and yet, judging by the evidence, may do nothing to add jobs at Ontario’s factories. Instead, Ontario’s policymakers should accept that those jobs might never return, and instead, focus their energies on finding ways to encourage growth in high-skill, high-paying jobs in other sectors that offer more promise.
The Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions: Why Regulatory Responses to the Crisis Might Not Prove Sufficient
Authors: White William R. 
Published: August 2024

It is now six years since a devastating financial and economic crisis rocked the global economy. Supported strongly by the G20 process, international regulators led by the Financial Stability Board have been working hard ever since to develop new regulatory standards designed to prevent a recurrence of these events. These international standards are intended to provide guidance for the drawing up of national legislation and regulation, and have already had a pervasive influence around the world. This paper surveys recent international developments concerning the prudential regulation of financial institutions: banks, the shadow banking system and insurance companies. It concludes that, while substantial progress has been made, the global economy nevertheless remains vulnerable to possible future financial instability. This possibility reflects three sets of concerns. First, measures taken to manage the crisis to date have actually made the prevention of future crises more difficult. Second, the continuing active debate over virtually every aspect of the new regulatory guidelines indicates that the analytical foundations of what is being proposed remain highly contestable. Third, implementation of the new proposals could suffer from different practices across regions. Looking forward, the financial sector will undoubtedly continue to innovate in response to competitive pressures and in an attempt to circumvent whatever regulations do come into effect. If we view the financial sector as a complex adaptive system, continuous innovation would only be expected. This perspective also provides a number of insights as to how regulators should respond in turn. Not least, it suggests that attempts to reduce complexity would not be misguided and that complex behaviour need not necessarily be accompanied by still more complex regulation. Removing impediments to more effective self discipline and market discipline in the financial sector would also seem recommended.
Pengaruh Kesalahan Ejaan Remaja terhadap Citra Diri dalam Media Sosial
Authors: Wardhani Bintang Kusuma , Irawan Novan Andi Nanang , Adithya Muhammad Rifky 
Published: August 2024

Artikel ini membicarakan dampak kesalahan ejaan pada citra diri remaja di platform media sosial. Isu utamanya melibatkan pengaruh kesalahan ejaan terhadap tingkat kepercayaan diri, perasaan malu atau rendah diri, serta persepsi orang lain dalam lingkungan media sosial. Dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif, yaitu wawancara dan observasi, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menyelidiki secara menyeluruh dampak kesalahan ejaan terhadap citra diri remaja. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kesalahan ejaan memiliki efek yang signifikan, meningkatkan kepercayaan diri remaja, dan membuat mereka lebih rentan terhadap perasaan malu atau rendah diri. Orang lain melihatnya, yang berdampak pada interaksi sosial dan hubungan di media sosial. Salah satu hasil nyata dari artikel ini adalah peningkatan perhatian terhadap penggunaan bahasa yang tepat di media sosial dan pemahaman yang lebih baik tentang bagaimana hal itu memengaruhi citra diri remaja. Diharapkan artikel ini akan menjadi dasar untuk pengembangan program pendidikan dan intervensi yang meningkatkan kesadaran remaja tentang pentingnya menggunakan bahasa yang benar di media sosial untuk membangun citra diri yang positif.
Optimalisasi Perhutanan Sosial di Sumba Barat Daya untuk Masa Depan Berkelanjutan
Authors: Rachmini Saparita  , Seno Basuki  , Nurul Hilmiati  , Bilal As’Adhanayadi  
Published: August 2024

Sudah sejak lama hubungan antara manusia dan hutan terjalin sangat strategis. Meskipun demikian, Masyarakat sering kali terjebak pada praktik-praktik pembalakan hutan akibat kemiskinan ekstrem, penggarapan lahan tanpa izin, dan kesalahan kebijakan pengelolaan hutan. Oleh karena itu, Kementerian LHK merumuskan sebuah program pemberdayaan inovatif dalam mengatasi konflik pengelolaan hutan, yakni perhutanan sosial.Perhutanan sosial merupakan sistem pengelolaan hutan lestari yang dilaksanakan oleh masyarakat, baik di wilayah kawasan hutan negara, hutan hak, maupun hutan adat untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat, keseimbangan lingkungan, dan dinamika sosial budaya. Buku Optimalisasi Perhutanan Sosial di Sumba Barat Daya untuk Masa Depan Berkelanjutan ini menyampaikan konsep, teori, dan praktik terbaik dalam pengelolaan perhutanan sosial yang berkelanjutan yang dapat memberikan manfaat bagi masyarakat di wilayah Hutan Rokoraka tanpa perlu merusak hutan.Buku ini diharapkan dapat memberikan manfaat, baik sebagai bacaan maupun sumber rujukan yang berharga, untuk pemerintah, akademisi, praktisi, dan semua pihak yang menaruh perhatian terhadap pengelolaan perhutanan sosial dan upaya-upaya demi menjaga kelestariannya.
Analisis Perlakuan Akuntansi Aktiva Tetap pada Dinas Pendapatan Pengelolaan Keuangan dan Aset Daerah Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah
Authors: Sevtiandary Ranny , Utami Trinanda , Yusnita Yuli 
Published: August 2024

Aset Tetap Dinas Pendapatan Pengelolaan Keuangan dan Aset Daerah Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah merupakan harta kekayaan pemerintah Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah yang memiliki nilai lebih. Penyajian nilai aset yang sesuai dengan peraturan pemerintah akan menghasilkan laporan keuangan yang handal terhadap aset tetap pemerintah Dinas Pendapatan Pengelolaan Keuangan dan Aset Daerah Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perlakuan akuntansi aktiva tetap pada Dinas Pendapatan Pengelolaan Keuangan dan aset Daerah Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah Sesuai dengan Standar Akuntansi Pemerintah (Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 71 Tahun 2010 Pernyataan No. 07 tentang aset tetap). Metode pengambilan data menggunakan data dan wawancara pada pihak DPPKAD Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah. Aset Tetap yang dianalisa merupakan Neraca tahun 2019-2023 Aset Tetap dari hingga perlakuannya. Akuntansi aset tetap dianalisa meliputi, pengakuan aktiva tetap, pengukuran aktiva tetap, pengeluaran setelah perolehan aktiva tetap, pengukuran berikutnya terhadap pengakuan awal aktiva tetap, penghentian dan pelepasan aktiva tetap, pengungkapan aktiva tetap. Penelitian ini dengan menggunakan analisis komparatif, dilakukan dengan cara membandingkan realisasi dilapangan dengan peraturan yang berlaku.
Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan penerapan Akuntansi Aset tetap pada DPPKAD Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah belum sepenuhnya Sesuai dengan PSAP yang berlaku. Untuk pengakuan, pengukuran, pengeluaran setelah perolehan, penghentian dan pelepasan pengungkapan sudah sesuai dengan PSAP. Tetapi untuk pengukuran berikutnya terhadap pengakuan awal disarankan segera disusun kebijakan akuntansi yang mengatur tentang penyusutan aset tetap.
disidencia silente. Poéticas que subvierten la violencia patriarcal (Carmen Laforet y Clara Obligado)
Authors: Benson Ken 
Published: August 2024

El artículo muestra cómo hay concomitancias entre las poéticas de dos autoras del mundo hispánico (Carmen Laforet, 1921-2003 y Clara Obligado, Buenos Aires 1950) para de forma fractal narrar el trauma social que las dictaduras como expresión última de las consecuencias nefastas para la humanidad que ha tenido la destructiva ideología de la sociedad patriarcal. Tomando como punto de partida dos obras de sendas escritoras muy poco tratadas por la crítica se demuestra cómo ambas rompen con el canon prevaleciente para proponer alternativas ficcionales que requieren de la implicación del lector en la conformación de sus respectivos mundos narrativos, que renuevan las formas comunicativas prevalecientes en la postguerra española y la actualidad neoliberal, respectivamente.
Palabras clave: Carmen Laforet, Clara Obligado, patriarcado, disidencia, canon.