CD Howe Institute and Business Taxes

The Howe released today yet another study on marginal effective tax rates on business (METRs) by Jack Mintz today, this time calculating METRs for many countries. http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/ebrief_34.pdf

The CD Howe’s METR findings and methodology seem to be taken at face-value almost universally these days eg cited by the Department of Finance and the latest OECD Economic Review of Canada. Yet they are more than a little problematic. For one thing, the assumption seems to be that all of the cost of a tax on business is borne by capital rather than shifted to others, such as consumers. This seems particularly problematic for sales taxes on capital goods inputs. I would welcome any suggestions on sources re developing a critical counter-point to the METR literature.

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