Outputs

Research, published openly

Knowledge mobilization is the cornerstone of FACT — research is built to reach policy, practice, and the public, not to sit in academic silos. Findings are co-created with partners, published open-access, and mobilized in both official languages across a spectrum of formats: peer-reviewed articles, plain-language policy briefs, data visualizations, and public explainers.

Published outputs

Browse by theme

FACT's first published outputs appear in the 2026 Canadian Tax Journal. Filter by research theme; more formats — policy briefs, explainers, and data tools — will appear here as they are released.

Summaries:

Canadian Tax Journal · 2026 · 74(2) · 383–400

Theme 2 · Redistribution and Public Value

Beyond Cost and Yield: The MVPF-TaxAdmin Framework for Evaluating Tax Administration Reforms Through Public Value, Equity, and Welfare

Selvia Arshad, Gillian Petit, Lindsay M. Tedds

Introduces MVPF-TaxAdmin, a welfare-based framework for measuring the social return on every dollar spent administering the tax system — not just its cost and revenue. Applied to automatic tax filing as a case study, it shows how the value of a reform rises once accessibility and legitimacy are weighed alongside efficiency, and how automatic filing can deliver high social returns by improving access for low-income filers.

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Canadian Tax Journal · 2026 · 74(2) · 401–418

Theme 3 · Administrative Equity and Access

Tax Filing as State Administrative Infrastructure: Governance Gaps in Canada's Tax-Based Benefit System

Gillian Petit, Lindsay M. Tedds, Jennifer Robson

Argues that tax filing has quietly become the main administrative gateway to income-tested benefits across all orders of government — yet its governance still treats it as revenue collection, not benefit delivery. Shows how fragmented intergovernmental arrangements leave gaps in outreach, error correction, and access, and proposes a lighter intergovernmental agreement on filing and benefit access as Canada moves toward automatic filing.

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Canadian Tax Journal · 2026 · 74(2) · 471–490

Theme 3 · Administrative Equity and Access

Built for Purpose: A Permanent Public Tax Policy Advisory Body

Jennifer Robson, Yves Giroux

Makes the case that a serious review of Canada's tax system is unlikely to succeed through the usual technical consultation or a time-limited commission. Draws on Canadian public administration to show why a permanent public body would offer a better forum for incremental but transformational tax reform — one that preserves democratic accountability and transparency.

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Funding acknowledgement

The Fair and Accountable Canadian Taxation (FACT) Partnership: The Fair Tax Initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Partnership Development Grant 890-2025-0173, 2026–2029). Additional cash and in-kind support is provided by Social Capital Partners, the Canadian Tax Observatory, and Carleton University.

Le partenariat Fair and Accountable Canadian Taxation (FACT) : The Fair Tax Initiative est en partie financé par le Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (subvention de développement de partenariat 890-2025-0173, 2026-2029). Un appui financier et en nature additionnel est fourni par Social Capital Partners, l'Observatoire canadien de la fiscalité et l'Université Carleton.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada / Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada

Research published by FACT is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and is not a product of SSHRC. Views expressed are those of the researchers.
Les recherches publiées par FACT sont financées par le Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada et ne constituent pas un produit du CRSH. Les opinions exprimées sont celles des chercheuses et chercheurs.