Montréal, February 24, 2025 — The HEC Montréal Centre for Productivity and Prosperity – Walter J. Somers Foundation (CPP) published its conclusions today under its mandate from the Ministère des Finances du Québec to analyze the effectiveness of fiscal policy relating to income tax credits for tax-advantaged funds. Based on tax data from thousands of Quebec firms, the CPP researchers came to a clear conclusion: maintaining this policy cannot be justified, given the size of the tax expenditure it involves.
“The government is stubbornly applying tax strategies based on the needs of another era,” explains Robert Gagné, CPP Director and co-author of the study. “On average, the Quebec government gave up revenue of approximately $156 million a year to finance the credit for contributions to labour-sponsored funds between 2012 and 2019, meaning an average cost of $45,594 for each job created. Given that job creation hasn’t been an economic development concern for at least 10 years, this is obviously a disproportionate expenditure.”
