First Nations populations and on-reserve businesses are growing faster than the Canadian average. This growth should be welcomed by the rest of the Canadian family, save for one problem: unjustified tax exemptions for on-reserve commerce and individuals.
The Indian Act specifies that government does not tax any product or service delivered on a reserve to a “Registered Indian” or any income earned on reserve by a person or business. Trends suggest that the scale of tax losses for governments will only increase.