Canada should eliminate its capital gains tax to spur economic growth says a new book, International Evidence on the Effects of Having No Capital Gains Taxes, edited by economist Herbert Grubel and released today by The Fraser Institute.

“It is important for Canada to consider international competitiveness in setting policy on capital gains taxation. There are a number of countries in the world that have considerable experience in running a tax system without capital gains taxation,” says Grubel, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University and a Senior Fellow at The Fraser Institute.

The book includes papers presented at The Fraser Institute’s 2000 Symposium on Capital Gains Taxation at which economists from nine countries addressed a number of issues critical in assessing the consequences of having no capital gains tax, including countries’ experiences with the use of indexing of capital gains due to inflation.

Grubel says, “The elimination of the capital gains tax would increase the rate of capital formation, foreign investment, and growth in productivity, and, therefore, raise the living standards of all Canadians.”