The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) recently proposed a technology strategy for Canada:

At CIPS we believe our future is dependant upon creating the type of meaningful, highly-skilled work that you find in the technology sector. We also believe in order to ensure the long-term viability of Canada’s information technology industry we need a concerted effort from government, academia and industry. Some potential measures could include:

• The elimination of income tax for IT professionals in Canada. This would provide an incentive for students to enter the field and help repatriate Canadians currently working abroad.
• Eliminate the tax on all technology sold in Canada. This would provide an immediate as well as long term boost to manufacturers and retailers of hardware and software.
• Stimulate more students to participate in IT related fields of study. We advocate a relief mechanism, either financial or otherwise, that acts as a multiplier for students entering studies in IT.
• In order to address the lack of qualified IT professionals, CIPS advocates recruiting more professionals from overseas, or repatriating Canadians who have left to work abroad.

They expect a gap of 89,000 IT workers in the next three to five years.

Interesting proposal but really, eliminating income taxes? That is so un-Canadian.