Implementing a Basic Income Guarantee Through the Personal Income Tax System : Benefits, Barriers, and Bothers

Although there are a number of benefits to using the income tax system to deliver a basic income guarantee (B.I.G) in Ontario, regardless of its form, there are also a number of difficulties. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the PIT system, as it exists at both the federal and Ontario provincial levels, could help not only to implement a B.I.G., but also how it would pose barriers to, and bothersome issues with, its implementation. I begin by considering the benefits of using the tax system over the existing provincial social assistance administration. I then consider the barriers to doing so, which primarily would result from the integration of the federal and provincial PIT systems through the tax collection agreements, and detail bothersome issues with the tax system that would be amplified with a B.I.G. I conclude by proposing reforms to the tax system that would aid the implementation of a B.I.G