Five out of the six biggest U.S. airlines have raised their checked bag fees since January 2024. Take American Airlines. In 2023, it cost US$30 to check a standard bag in with the airline; today, as of March 2024, it costs $40 at a U.S. airport – a whopping 33% increase. As a business school […]
A provincial sales tax is the solution to Alberta’s fiscal roller-coaster
With a new Alberta premier taking office in October and a general election required by the end of May 2023, fiscal policy may become a wedge issue between Alberta’s United Conservative Party and the NDP. A key issue for analysts who study Alberta’s finances is the erratic behaviour of the province’s revenue stream, which is […]
Americans spend more time and money filing their taxes than residents of other countries — but there are some benefits to a complex tax code
Tax Day falls on April 18 in 2023. But if you’re one of the 20%-25% of Americans who wait until the last minute to file, don’t panic – you still have time. The IRS estimates that the average taxpayer spends 13 hours to complete their return. If you own a business, the estimate increases to […]
In fractious debate, GOP candidates find common ground on cause of inflation woes and need for school choice
It was a night in which even “the great communicator” himself may have struggled to be heard. At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Sept. 27, 2023, seven Republican candidates looking to become the leading challenger to the absent GOP front-runner Donald Trump interrupted, cross-talked and bickered – often to the exasperation of […]
Why is Tax Day on April 18 this year? And how did early spring become tax season, anyhow?
Mid-April has arrived. And along with the spring sunshine, that means the often dreaded civic duty of finishing off one’s taxes. It’s an arduous time for many, characterized by navigating increasingly confusing rules to arrive at the best refund possible. For some, it means writing a check to the federal government. Not fun. On a […]
GOP shutdown threat is the wrong way to win a budget war − history shows a better strategy for reducing the deficit
Congress has just days to keep the federal government from grinding to a halt, and a last-minute deal seems increasingly unlikely. The problem is that lawmakers need to pass a dozen appropriations bills – or a single continuing resolution – by Sept. 30, 2023, in order to keep the government’s lights on. But a key […]