Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Appendix: <strong>Commission</strong> Recommendations
Recommendation 18-21: Use the Ministry of Finance’s risk assessment technology to better
focus enterprise-wide audit activity on areas where rates of return are highest for the province.
Recommendation 18-22: Implement measures to better co-ordinate and consolidate
government audits of companies within the Ministry of Finance to recover funds on behalf of
the province.
Recommendation 18-23: Develop risk assessment approaches with other jurisdictions to help
address audit issues that cross provincial and international boundaries.
Recommendation 18-24: Instead of user fees remaining in fixed nominal terms, they should
be updated using a blend of full cost recovery and indexation and be phased in over the next
two years.
Recommendation 18-25: Conduct a review of education tax rate-setting policies for
residential and business tax rates to maintain a stable level of education tax revenues in
real terms.
Recommendation 18-26: Continue to implement the business education tax (BET) reduction
plan while considering options for adjusting the plan in order to avoid part or all of the revenue
loss associated with reducing high BET rates by also increasing low BET rates.
Recommendation 18-27: Build on the existing business education tax (BET) reduction plan to
address historical BET rate inequities and distortions by gradually implementing a single
uniform BET rate.
Recommendation 18-28: Further develop and implement results-focused strategies to deter
illegal tobacco, including enforcing existing laws and developing new partnerships and
legislative and regulatory tools.
Recommendation 18-29: Replace taxes tied to a good’s volume with taxes tied to the good’s
value (i.e., replace specific taxes with ad valorem taxes or otherwise capture changes in
values).
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