APA Reference #1

Basic Income, Who Pays? Probably not you. July 19, 2022. UBI Works, 1-10.

Hyperlink: https://www.ubiworks.ca/

4 Key Points
1. Funding Options: Contributions from our financial sector, Fewer tax breaks for large
companies, Fewer subsidies for the wealthiest (basically tax the rich)
2. UBI Works plan will ensure it does not stifle entrepreneurship or private capital
investment and promotes economic expansion and that It is practical since it complies
with our current tax laws or has a solid track record elsewhere.
3. Spending tax money wisely can, more specifically, spur enough economic growth to
have a stimulatory effect overall. By focusing on areas of the economy where money
accumulates unproductively and then distributing that money to people so they may
spend and invest it, the tax reforms we advocate reduce these impeding effects.
4. Limitation= Clawback rate; In order to balance cost concerns and lessen the incentives
to work, the clawback of earned income is set at 50%.

Connection to topic
UBI Works is an organisation who is pro UBI. They have a couple of methods on how UBI can
be implemented in Canada. One of the benefits of their plan is that basic income will be made
with not one but many different sources, thus making it very likely for our economy to grow as it
won’t be weighed down by the decrease of money from only one specific sector (eg, tax money
from luxury tax). But with hug advantages there are also huge disadvantages; With UBI
implemented there is a high chance of people (mostly women) quitting their employment and
relying completely on UBI. Also UBI means that the money will be spread equally to everyone, a
lot of people will take advantage of this by spending their money on unnecessary items.

Deep Questions
- How can we trust Citizens to spend, save and invest their government income rather
than waste it on unnecessary items?
- What actions will or can be taken against citizens who live on UBI and plainly waste
government money? Will any actions be taken at all?
APA Reference #2
Fuss, J., & Hill, T. July 14, 2021. CERB problems underscore problems with universal basic
income. Fraser Institute, 1-3.

Hyperlink: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/cerb-problems-underscore-problems-with-
universal-basic-income

4 Key Points

1. CERB System is being used to convince the implementation of UBI but the CERB
system was heavily flawed.
Eg, almost one million young Canadians earned more under CERB than they did in monthly
income in 2019.
2. Lack of targeting led to CERB's astronomical $73.1 billion price tag. UBI, in comparison,
is probably going to be much less targeted and more expensive.
Eg. The cost would be $465 billion per year if all Canadians between the ages of 18 and 64 got
payouts of $24,000 per year with no conditions. For comparison's sake, that amounts to
approximately $100 billion more than the whole government budget for 2019–20.
3. One-third of unemployed Canadians received nothing from CERB during the first wave
of the virus due to flawed conditions.
Eg, In 2019, several employees failed to reach the qualifying requirement of making at least
$5,000. For example, the majority of gig workers earn less than $5,000 yearly, making them
ineligible for CERB while working in hazardous settings.

Connection to topic
CERB was implemented in 2020 due to the global covid pandemic. It had run smoothly for the
most part but more recently it was discovered that ⅓ of unemployed Canadians got nothing
from CERB because they did not meet requirements. Unlike with CERB, at the implementation
of UBI, everyone will get money from the government despite being rich or poor. This will cause
the costs to skyrocket because the new income is not being targeted to those who need it but
rather to the entire Canadian population.

Deep Questions
- Will UBI Be more targeted than CERB if not how will the government recover the money
from those people who don’t need it? (Keep in mind the UBI means a fair income for
every citizen no matter rich or poor)
- If CERB and UBI are given to replace/ increase salaries, will it also replace the
motivation to be employed?
- If UBI is at any point based on previous income, will income forgery become an
increasing issue as more people will try to fit the requirements to maximise government
generated Income?

APA Reference #3:

Mintz, J. December 2, 2021. Jack M. Mintz: Tax the rich won't work. Financial Post, 2-5.

Hyperlink:
https://financialpost.com/opinion/jack-m-mintz-tax-the-rich-wont-work

4 Key Points
1. A luxury tax that only applies to a select few items might simply result in tax-exempt
conspicuous consumption taking the place of taxable, such as visits to Tofino in place of
Lamborghinis, for example.
2. The United States enacted a luxury tax on automobiles, aeroplanes, yachts, jewels, and
furs with the goal of raising $9 billion annually. It didn't, and it was abandoned after only
two years due to tax avoidance, a severe recession, and the resulting job losses,
particularly in the boat-building industry.
3. An estimated $29 million increase in revenue from taxing yachts was calculated, but at
the cost of 900 jobs and $90 million in lost revenue (a luxury boat tax would generate
little revenue and would primarily affect middle-class workers, who would no longer
service or manufacture high-end boats in Canada).
4. The costly new housing, daycare, and health care that the Liberals and NDP envision
can only be partially funded by a luxury tax. However, it will increase tax complexity and,
in part, will affect workers rather than the wealthy.

Connection to topic
UBI cannot be generated from thin air, this money needs to come from somewhere. The most
popular approach is to tax the rich, this can be done specifically by adding a greater luxury tax.
But, past luxury tax implementations have seemed to cause literal recessions in the economy.
For example many yacht-owners purchased new ones in other countries where they could
harbour them and avoid the tax altogether.

Deep Question
- The rich only make a slight part of the population, so are their increased taxes really
going to help provide a solid income for millions of other Canadians?