In his inaugural address opening Quebec’s 37th legislature, newly elected Premier Jean Charest stated that taxes must be lowered not just for the pleasure of it but “because it is necessary, because our tax load is an obstacle to our development.” What exactly is the current situation? What is the weight of this tax and regulatory burden that people in Quebec are forced to bear?

Comparing the tax situation between Canada and the USA.

How to best organize the financing, production and distribution of public services.

Three criteria to judge the tax system.

Can we increase tax revenues by lowering tax rates?

In the late 1990s, the Quebec government put in place a number of incentives worth more than 2 billion dollars in order to attract related firms in designated zones. This "cités industrielles" policy, whose most prominent examples are Montreal's Cité Multimédia and Cité du commerce électronique, and Quebec City's Centre national des nouvelles technologies, seeks to create "synergies" between firms and to revitalize certain urban areas. This policy is not based on any detailed analysis.

How to cut taxes without cutting into governments’ revenues.

The effects of the capital gains tax.

Wealthy Canadians and their tax burden.

Wealthy Canadians and their tax burden.