For those who travel outside of Canada this spring and summer, we have a modest proposal: find a pub, sit down with locals and ask about their nation's health care system.

We would wager citizens of every country think health care could be improved. However, we would also bet...

If business leaders ever wonder why a chunk of the public disdains business and calls for higher corporate taxes or sector-specific increases (e.g. higher royalty rates for energy and mining, higher stumpage fees in forestry) or just increased business taxation in general, here's a clue: too many companies are addicted...

In a recent debate on the pages of the National Post many Albertans might have missed, two economists, Rhys Kesselman from Simon Fraser University and Jack Mintz from the University of Calgary sparred over the most desirable tax mix for Alberta. Kesselman wanted Alberta's single income tax rate replaced with...

For those who file their taxes at the last moment and cut an extra cheque to government, right about now is unlikely to be their favourite time of year. For what it's worth, it might be of some comfort to know taxes have provoked much the same reaction throughout history.

The recent death of Margaret Thatcher provoked a plethora of analysis and emotion about the late British prime minister. This was predictable, given how her much-needed reforms of the British economy upset the turgid status quo. Thatcher was bound to produce both admirers and critics.

Glenda Jackson, a British actor...

There is apparently no shortage of politicians with a not-so-secret Hollywood love affair: they love to throw tax sweeteners and direct subsidies at the film industry, this in an effort to lure film production to their province or state.

The latest starry-eyed politician is the British Columbia opposition leader,...

Throughout human history, men and women have struggled to tear themselves free from concentrated power and its ill effects. While many people in developed, democratic and capitalist countries often take their freedoms for granted, history is filled with tyrants and bullies who stand between citizens, their freedom and their prosperity.

With Ralph Klein's passing, many have tried to find a constant theme in his political life. The late premier was, to be sure, a populist. What else explains his reputation as a big spender when mayor of Calgary and then his switch to a prudent premier?

The explanation is not...

If there was a theme in the recent federal budget, it was how chock full it was with new corporate welfare. The underlying refrain was how big government will help big business with your tax dollars.

For example, early on in Budget 2013, it is clear that crony...

For those who don't normally read budget documents, here's what the Alberta government just did in its 2013 budget: they abandoned the sensible budget and financial framework that former Progressive Conservative Finance Minister Jim Dinning introduced in 1993.

Some history for those too young or too new...

Whenever Canadians cross the border, it is inevitable they will find cheaper goods in the United States. Whether milk, books, electronic goods or vehicles, it seems bargains abound south of the 49th parallel.

The Canadian Senate has just done a bang-up job of adding hard data to anecdotal...

There might be a thousand reasons why people hate sales taxes. Here are three: First, they're visible; second, in Alberta, where no provincial sales tax exists, there is justifiable pride that people have escaped at least one tax applied elsewhere in Canada; third, many Albertans rightly fear that if a...

The last time Alberta was in a fiscal mess due to low energy revenues and over-the-top government spending, some politicians and pundits said what Albertans really needed was higher taxes. That was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those voices were wrong then and they are wrong now....

When Alberta Premier Alison Redford took to the television screen the other night, she paid much attention to the revenue side of the government's books. On Alberta's massive budget deficit, the premier blamed the below-world price that Alberta-based companies receive for oil.

Nothing was whispered about past sweetheart deals...

You might think the federal Conservatives, who added $125 billion to the federal debt since 2008 and will add another $21 billion by the end of March, might be shy about unnecessary expenditures. Alas, that's not the case, as it appears Prime Minister Stephen Harper and...

With all the attention paid to the Idle No More movement and the off-again on-again talks between some native chiefs and the Prime Minister, one basic fact about aboriginal life in Canada has been forgotten: most aboriginals do not live on reserve and seem to be better for it.

In the wake of the Idle No More protests that have blocked railway lines and have hinted at more mischief, multiple grievances have been advanced in place of clear-headed analyses. But none of the slogans, clichés and guilt-tripping get to the bottom of why some aboriginals, especially on reserves, are...

Question: Have you ever felt annoyed at a restaurant when your bill arrived with a mandated tip, thus removing your (monetary) ability to comment on the service? If so, that's about how governments act vis-à-vis travel costs for Canadians, this when governments prevent full competition which would reduce prices.

On a recent trip to Kenya, my friend and his family crashed head on into an example of why some developing countries cannot grow and prosper.

As they were about to board their flight from Nairobi, the clerk at the exit gate said there was a problem with their boarding...

When governments enter an election year, the political temptation to play fast and loose with budget numbers is strong. The most famous example of this was probably the 1996 budget in British Columbia. That year, then-B.C. Premier Glen Clark's office injected sunshine into revenue forecasts, this in order to trumpet...