THE TAXATION OF CAPITAL INCOME IN CANADA: ANALYSIS AND DIRECTIONS FOR REFORM

This paper describes and analyzes the taxation of capital income in Canada, including the corporate income tax and the taxation of dividends and capital gains at the personal level. The paper then turns to a discussion of directions for policy reform. The perspective is that of a small open economy with highly mobile capital. I argue that a rent-based tax at the corporate level coupled with increases in the taxation of dividends and capital gains at the personal level is attractive in terms of the equity-efficiency trade-off.