In this episode of “In The Mood With Kim G C Moody Podcast”, Kim discusses the so-called recent Christmas present handed out by the Canadian federal government: the GST / HST holiday on certain “affordability” items and the $250 cash handout scheduled to be distributed to certain Canadians in the spring of 2025. Is it really a gift? Or will it come with significant costs? Short answer….it’s a costly gift that will have no lingering benefits. It’s frankly providing a sugar rush. Instead, Canada should be planting acorns for long-term economic benefits. Such “planting of acorns” should include the introduction of productivity measures and significant reductions in government spending that can have long-term benefits. Kim ends the podcast by emphasizing the need for Canadians to improve their financial literacy so as to make more informed choices in the future. Happy listening!

This podcast with host Kim G C Moody and guest Jack Mintz discuss the need for comprehensive tax reform in Canada. Mintz outlines the history of tax reform efforts in Canada, including the Carter report and the Mintz committee's recommendations in the 1990s. He argues that since then, Canada has implemented piecemeal changes that have increased tax system complexity and distortions, rather than undertaking meaningful reform. Mintz suggests Canada should look to models like Estonia's tax system as an alternative to the incremental approach, in order to simplify the tax code and improve economic competitiveness, as Canada has fallen behind the U.S. in GDP per capita.