Policy Forum: Tax Expenditures—Lessons from the Elimination of Ontario's Tuition and Education Tax Credits

• DOI: 10.32721/ctj.2022.70.3.pf.neill.snoddon
• Publication Date: 2022-11-03T18:50:21Z
• Authors: Christine Neill; Tracy Snoddon
• Keywords: Scrutiny; Changeover

Stanley Surrey and others have highlighted tax expenditures as being hidden forms of spending that can evade the type analysis scrutiny applied to direct programs, allowing inefficient inequitable programs persist. But there is only limited empirical evidence on differences in persistence similar a measure compared form. The conversion Ontario's education tuition into form via existing student aid program provides an interesting case study. As discussed this article, although credits had never been subject value-for-money audit, was reviewed 2018 shortly after changeover, hearty criticism its distributional effects despite less regressive than credit versions. This led substantial cuts program, line with views expenditures.