Canada’s Tax Advantage

Forbes magazine recently ranked Canada as the best country in the world in which to do business, up from its fourth place ranking in 2010 (other notables were Denmark ranked fifth, down from first in 2010, Sweden at seventh, and the US at tenth).  A significant contributor to Canada's improved ranking was "substantial improvement" in the competitiveness of Canada's tax system.  Forbes commented that "Canada's standing as a business friendly locale has improved thanks to tax reform over the past two years", particularly a "reformed tax structure with a Harmonized Sales Tax introduced in Ontario and British Columbia in 2010."

Some of that improvement will be reversed with the "de-harmonization" of B.C. from the HST system.  It is difficult to argue that referenda do not serve useful purposes in the democratic process.  However, the recent referendum in B.C., in which the electorate voted to scrap the HST, illustrates how populism doesn't always lead to good public