Job Specification

Purpose :

To provide strategic advice, expertise and analysis to senior ministry management and other OPS ministries on
personal income and payroll tax policy issues, and to lead related policy development projects/studies.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Tax Policy and Planning Advice, Expertise and Consultation
- Provides strategic policy advice, alternative policy options and recommendations to senior management, executives
and the Minister on trends and developments affecting taxation, such as potential policy/program changes by other
governments requiring policy responses, and identifies and initiates responses to linkages between taxation issues and
other issues in the Provincial agenda.
- Provides analysis/expertise regarding relevant technical and legislative aspects of the personal income tax system in
Ontario, its relationship to the provincial personal income and payroll tax system, federal income tax policy, and the
policies of other provinces.
- Identifies issues relevant to provincial decision-making, such as the implication of the tax statutes, historical
perspectives, experience in other jurisdictions, the broader government policy environment, macroeconomic
considerations, and the perspective of affected groups/sectors.
- Leads Budget and non-Budget initiatives through all phases of development and implementation including
development of revenue estimates and work with design and legislation, quantitative modelling, legal counsel and staff
in other divisions of the Ministry (e.g., Office of Economic Policy, Fiscal Planning Branch, Tax Revenue Division, etc.),
and consultations with other ministries, Canada Revenue Agency, and other governments.
- Provides advice and assistance to other branches/divisions and ministries on the development of policies where the
branch has been asked to take a role in policy development.
2. Project Leadership/ Policy Development:
- Leads policy development processes, including coordinating qualitative, quantitative and financial/economic analysis,
overseeing development of options/recommendations, impact/risk analysis and executive approvals, managing required
internal/external consultation, and developing communication strategies.
- Ensures effective project management: develops/recommends project goals, work plans and deliverables; implements
sound business processes; determines/recommends resources and appropriate analytical approaches and provides
supervision/coordination to project teams.
- Coordinates/develops in-depth reports and analyses, and policy documentation [e.g. Cabinet submissions, legislative
amendments.] Presents policy options and recommendations to ministry senior management for decision making
purposes, and provides briefings to senior management, the Deputy Minister and the Minister.
- Leads/supervises activities of assigned economists and students by providing technical guidance/coaching/training to
improve analytical and presentation techniques and ensure quality of analyses/advice and written materials comply with
Ministry standards.
- Contributes to Division/Branch strategic business planning.
3. Issues Management:
- Prepares updates and contentious issue reports and responses for the Minister's correspondence, including related
briefing materials [e.g. presentations, briefing notes, papers etc.].
- Provides day-to-day information on tax policy issues and requests, including fact checking of news releases,
speeches and other material and responding to MPP and public inquiries.
- Identifies emerging issues, undertakes research with respect to these issues, and provides senior management, the
minister and deputy minister of finance with comprehensive information and analysis to support resolution of
contentious issues.
- Coordinates/prepares a range of briefing materials and issue analyses [e.g. budget papers, technical issues/reports,
briefing notes, correspondence, policy options papers and issues resolution] for presentation to ministry senior
management.
- Responds to media inquiries where required.
4. Stakeholder Relations
- Collaborates with other Branches/Divisions/Ministries/jurisdictions in the development of tax policy options papers by
contributing personal income and employer health tax expertise, advice and constructive criticism.
- Liaises with federal and provincial counterparts to discuss technical and legislative issues, to share information, and
consult on joint issues and projects.
- Represents the Branch/ministry on multi-stakeholder consultation sessions and intra/inter-ministry working
committees, task forces. Provides interpretation and presents/explains ministry macroeconomic policies/ programs
related to personal income and personal income and payroll tax, and their potential impact on assigned regions,
communities, business, and sectors of the economy.

Knowledge / Skill :

Knowledge of and skills in:
- Personal and payroll tax, economic theory and principles and knowledge of economics and/or accounting to
understand their relevance and applicability to the personal income and payroll tax policy development process and to
support the evaluation/development of policy options.
- Provincial and ministry strategic directions with respect to the provincial economy and personal income and payroll tax
issues, policies, programs, taxation, governing legislation and regulatory structures related to Ontario's economy and
the personal income and payroll tax process to: ensure that ministry business objectives and the provincial agenda are
effectively considered when providing input into the development/evaluation of policy impacts; provide strategic advice
to senior management; and exchange information with stakeholders.
- The complex of related factors applicable to the development of taxation policies/programs, including tax structures,
the historical perspective, experience of other jurisdictions, the broader government policy environment, microeconomic
implications and the perspective of affected groups/sectors and the Government's fiscal position in order to
provide senior management with expertise and advice on policy options.
- Governmental financial mandate, policy statements, tax legislation, regulatory guidelines, branch practices,
precedents and protocols to ensure policy decisions are in accordance with the Taxpayer Protection Act and relevant
tax statutes/Court rulings.
- Knowledge of the Ontario and federal tax systems and tax systems in other jurisdictions, to conduct analyses and
research, develop policy options and briefing materials, assess the Province's tax competitiveness and identify issues
that may impact on policy.
- Knowledge of government/ministry policy/program development and government decision making processes, to lead
and/or participate in the development of policy/program options/proposals.
- Project management skills and techniques to research and coordinate data collection and policy analysis and to lead
project teams/working groups.
- Research and quantitative/qualitative techniques to lead the analysis of relevant economic data to support the policy
analysis/development process, including estimates of impact on provincial revenues, taxpayers and socio- economic
groups of policy options and of exogenous factors as federal tax changes.
- Oral and written communications to prepare reports, correspondence, memoranda and analyses and contribute to the
development of briefing notes, presentations, budget papers and Cabinet documents and to represent the Ministry on
inter-ministry working committees.
- Computer applications for word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and databases to prepare briefing materials,
reports, presentations, correspondence and research and policy/program development materials.

Interpersonal / Influencing Skill :

Consultation, leadership and influencing skills to advise senior management, the Deputy Minister, and the Minister, on
trends/developments affecting taxation policies.
- Consultation, partnership building and relationship management skills to: establish key stakeholder linkages across
the OPS; work cooperatively in policy development projects with federal government and other provincial
ministries/divisions/branches; provide analysis and interpretation of tax policy; exchange data/information; and discuss
the impact of government polcies.
- Consultation, leadership, negotiation, and facilitation skills to lead projects on an inter-branch, inter-division and interministerial
basis, to work cooperatively in policy development projects with federal/provincial/agency jurisdictions and
private sector representatives [e.g. business, universities], to advise and provide information on competitiveness or
outlook, and/or to discuss the impact of taxation policies.
- Presentation and persuasion skills to provide policy advice and to explain policy and/or program recommendations
and convince senior management on most favourable option.
- Facilitation skills and diplomacy to represent the ministry/province on intergovernmental forums, and to
communicate/advise on Ministry/provincial policy/position on political issues to working committees, other governments,
stakeholders, and occasionally, the media.
- Political acuity and presentation skills to liaise with senior staff in the Minister's Office, Cabinet Office and the
Premier's Office, ensuring that information/briefing materials are strategic and accurately reflect the Government's
directions.

Analyzing / Problem Solving Skill :

Analytical and problem-solving skills to:
- Identify emerging issues, trends, developments, technologies and international competitiveness factors impacting on
assigned tax policy area, conduct research on related issues and provide advice, interpretation and technical expertise
to senior management on research and analytical findings.
- Analyze and evaluate the microeconomic and fiscal impacts of new/existing policies, programs, initiatives, and
business plans of line ministries and the private sector in the relation to the government's framework for economic,
fiscal, taxation and regulatory policies and programs, and provides strategic advice/policy options to senior
management with respect to tax policy.
- Design/ plan research studies/projects that encompass complex economic modeling, to identify/develop economic
policy options, fiscal frameworks and implementation plans.
- Contributes tax/microeconomic expertise in the analysis of budget proposals and initiatives to support the
development of the Provincial Budget, annual Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review, and the Long Term Outlook
Report.

Decision Making / Responsibility :

As recognized taxation specialist in the area of personal income and payroll tax policy, responsible for:
- Providing strategic and authoritative advice to senior management, the Deputy Minister, and the Minister, on issues,
trends/developments affecting macro-economic elements of payroll/personal income taxation.
- Identifying linkages between taxation issues and other macroeconomic considerations relevant to provincial decisionmaking,
[e.g. experience in other jurisdictions, the perspective of affected groups/sectors.]
- Providing analysis/expertise regarding relevant technical and legislative aspects of the personal income tax system in
Ontario, its relationship to the provincial corporate income tax system, federal income tax policy, and the policies of
other provinces.
- Leading multi-ministry policy development processes, including coordinating qualitative, quantitative and
financial/economic analysis, overseeing development of options/recommendations, impact/risk analysis and executive
approvals, managing required internal/external consultation, and developing communication strategies.
Has latitude to identify and recommend strategic taxation policy/program options to senior management, to determine
research scope for developing policy options and program development, and to coordinate contentious issues
management.
Decisions are guided by provincial and ministry strategic directions, existing legislative/regulatory and policy framework,
best practices and government directives and procedures.

Contacts / Stakeholder :

- Ministry senior management in own/other Ministries and central agencies to provide authoritative advice and issue
management resolution, and to present reports and information, correspondence, and briefing materials.
- Counterparts in own and other ministries and governments to obtain/exchange information, to provide advice and
expertise on policy implications and impacts.
- University/academic researchers and business executives to exchange information on industry/firm/university
performance, competitiveness or outlook and discuss the impact of government policies and initiatives.
- Members of the public, including special interest and taxpayer groups, as well as media, consultants and corporate
officials in the private sector in order to provide/obtain information/collect data and explain/discuss public policy.

Guidance / Supervision :

- Provides technical advice, guidance, and training to economists and students, and reviews/edits the work of team
members to ensure accuracy and compliance with Ministry standards and requirements.
- Provides technical guidance, tax policy/microeconomic expertise, and support to senior management and staff to
address complex policy issues.

Demands / Pressures :

Work Demands :

- Frequently required to respond to requests within short deadlines where time pressures result in the need to work
beyond normal work hours.
- Frequently required to deal with deadlines that are subject to change without notice, conflicting work demands,
priorities that are not anticipated or contentious and issues that arise unexpectedly and require quick turnaround for
issues management.

Mental / Sensory :

Continuous requirements to concentrate when reading materials, analyzing fiscal/economic data, documents and
research and when drafting reports, briefing notes and policy related materials.

Conditions / Environment :

Work is performed in a typical office environment.