US Drops Tariffs on Canadian Aluminum After Canada Considers Reciprocal Measures:
The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced on Tuesday that it was dropping a 10% tariff tax on imported Canadian aluminum, after media reports indicated that the Canadian government was considering reciprocal taxes on US goods. The announcement marks the end of a brief confrontation between the two USMCA partners, just weeks before the 2020 US election.
The United States has claimed - and aggressively so under the administration of President Donald Trump - that Canada engages in "dumping aluminum" into the US market, thus under-cutting American aluminum producers and harming their domestic industry. The Canadian aluminum industry vehemently denies these allegations, and alleges the tariffs have more to do with domestic US politics, than Canadian trade practices.
Read more from ABC News here and CTV News here.
B.C. Announces $660 Million in Tax Incentives as Part of COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan:
The Government of British Columbia has added over $660 million in tax incentives to its post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan, Premier John Horgan announced on Thursday. Premier Horgan, speaking about the measures at a press conference, said that "this recovery plan is just the start, the first step on a long road of recovery that we will take together, we’ll continue to invest wherever and whenever we need to, to keep our economy growing and keep people safe."
The tax incentives include a temporary 100% rebate on the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) on some machinery and equipment for eligible businesses, as well as a 15% payroll tax credit for new hires, to encourage businesses to hire more workers.
The B.C. government says that it has already spent more than $8.25 billion in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more from the National Post here and the Globe and Mail here.
Supreme Court of Canada to Hear Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan Challenge of Federal Carbon Tax Next Week:
The Supreme Court of Canada is set to hear the case against the federally mandated "carbon tax" from the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan next week on Tuesday, September 22nd, and Wednesday, September 23rd.
The province of Saskatchewan announced in May of 2019 that it intended to appeal the 3-2 decision at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal which had ruled that the federal carbon tax was indeed intra-vires and constitutional. The court noted at the time in its decision that "the object of the legislation, ensuring a minimum national price on greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage their mitigation, is an issue of national concern falling under Parliament’s authority for peace, order and good government."
The province of Ontario lost its similar appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal in June of the same year, in a 4-1 decision. However, the province of Alberta won its appeal to the Alberta Court of Appeals in its own 4-1 decision in February of this year, but appealed to the Supreme Court nonetheless in March, in order to have its case heard at the same time as the province's of Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Read more from MSN.com here.
Watch the SCC livestream on September 22nd and 23rd here.
OPINION: Why Some of Canada's Richest Millennials Want to Pay More Taxes:
An interesting piece from CBC News notes that while many millennials seek to lower their tax burden, some rich millennials - belonging to the "Resource Movement " - are interested in the opposite. CBC claims that "their mission is to reduce inequality between Canada's wealthiest people and the rest of the population."
Read more from CBC News here.