Finance committee  These were our predictions for the tax-free savings account, and on that basis it belied the promise of universal benefit. As Canadian data emerges on the TFSA experience to date, research recently published by our Canadian tax academic colleagues, in particular Professor Kevin M

Finance committee  Thank you. Actually, Professor Young is going to begin and then we'll switch to me.

Finance committee  —so they're quite a bit farther ahead than us, and since there wasn't enough Canadian data, this looked like it would behave the same way. That's what they have found.

Finance committee  That was the purpose of the research we did. The U.K. experience has been in place since—

Finance committee  Well, yes, I think that's our point. It's that it's not targeted. It's removing revenue from the treasury. It's creating a large and ever-expanding hole, and there is really no target as to what individuals are using this money for. If there are problems with affordability, such

Finance committee  —the RESP, which addresses the post-secondary issue. It's a much more effective vehicle with a defined purpose.

Finance committee  From the British experience, please note, the account is funded by a male from the highest income cohort that they used in their data. This is a U.K. government report. Also, it's someone who is approaching retirement. The prospect that this is for young low-income Canadians is n

Finance committee  I am.

Finance committee  I think it's important that people can save, but there is a lot of conflicting research on the effectiveness of tax-assisted savings incentives for certain individuals. There is also a point at which saving should not be incentivized any further, because spending has a very posit

Finance committee  Yes, but it's also coming out of the public treasury and is not going into a distributive mechanism that can benefit other Canadians at the same time.

Finance committee  Correct, if that's your goal.

Finance committee  Yes, that's what the U.K. experience showed, and there have been other mentions this morning that a lot of it is existing money that is moved from places where tax would be collected on it to a place where a tax will not be collected on it.

Finance committee  I wouldn't say “no new” but not as much as one might hope.

Finance committee  The focus of our research has not made that comparison. Our major concern is the fact that, to go back decades, we have had in the Canadian tax system a fundamental principle that a buck is a buck, where a dollar of wealth or income was to be taxed regardless of its source.

Finance committee  First of all, you're making assumptions about me that I don't think are necessary for this discussion.