Who Benefits Most from Billions in Postsecondary Tax Credits? Not Low-Income Families

Postsecondary tax credits cost the federal and provincial governments billions of dollars each year, but are not distributed equitably and may have no proven effect in boosting enrolment, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “What You Don’t Know Can’t Help You: Lessons of Behavioural Economics for Tax-Based Student Aid,” author Christine Neill finds flaws in the design of postsecondary tax credits  and recommends they be better-targeted at low-income families that need them most. 
Canada’s federal and provincial governments spend a lot of money subsidizing postsecondary students, notes the author. Tuition and education/textbook tax credits, in particular, cost the federal government alone around $1.6 billion in 2012 – a sum greater than the net cost of the Canada Student Loan Program. 
For the report go to: http://www.cdhowe.org/what-you-dont-know-cant-help-you-lessons-of-behavioural-economics-for-tax-based-student-aid/23461. Read more...