Lisa Philipps

Professor Osgoode Hall Law School of York University

  • Toronto ON

Professor of Law, specializing in taxation law and fiscal policy

Contact

Social

Biography

Professor Lisa Philipps teaches and writes about taxation law and fiscal policy. She is known for incisive expert commentary on budgets, taxes, law, gender and social policy, and higher education policy.On faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School since 1996, Philipps has published widely on topics such as registered savings plans, tax expenditures, income splitting and family taxation, balanced budget laws, judicial approaches to tax law, taxes and disability, and charitable donation tax incentives. In her scholarship and in the classroom, she explores the basic values and policy choices at play in designing a fair and efficient tax system.Professor Philipps has provided commissioned research and advice to a number of bodies. In 2015 she was appointed as Special Counsel to Ontario’s Ministry of Finance. She practised tax law with the firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon prior to embarking on her academic career, and taught at the Universities of Victoria and British Columbia before joining York University.She has held a number of leadership roles at the Law School and University levels, most recently as Interim Dean of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University (fall 2015), and Associate Vice-President Research at York University from 2011-14. An active volunteer, she serves as Director of Research Policy on the Board of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, a national non-profit organization. She is also appointed as a member of the Provincial Judges Pension Board.Professor Philipps received her LLB from the University of Toronto and her LLM from York University. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1988.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Legal Services
Research
Women
Public Policy
Non-Profit/Charitable

Areas of Expertise

Budget Laws
Fiscal Policy
Gender and Economic Equality
Tax Policy
Income Splitting
Work-Integrated Learning

Accomplishments

Bar

Called to the Bar of Ontario, 1988

Education

York University

LL.M.

Law

1992

University of Toronto

LL.B.

Law

1986

Affiliations

  • Member : Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada
  • Member : Canadian Tax Foundation
  • Member : Canadian Association of Law Teachers

Media Appearances

Op-ed: The downsides of post-secondary co-op work placements

Globe and Mail  print

2016-10-27

Op-ed co-written with Joseph Turcotte and Leslie Nichols.

"Canadian higher education is entering a new age of “work-integrated” learning. More and more students are seeking a co-op placements, internships or other hands-on work experience as part of their postsecondary program."

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Op-ed: The principal-residence exemption is a fixable piece of the housing puzzle

Globe and Mail  print

2016-09-12

There is no one simple strategy, no silver bullet, to make houses more affordable in some of Canada’s overheated markets. The problem has multiple causes, including ultralow interest rates, low supplies of housing for rent or purchase, and speculation.

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We need Canadian courts to uphold the spirit of our tax laws

The Globe and Mail  

2016-06-03

The Panama Papers have refocused attention on how Canada can protect its tax base in a world of mobile capital and abundant tax planning. Who is responsible for closing the legal loopholes that enable tax avoidance? The essential role of the courts is often overlooked...

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Articles

Silent partners: The role of unpaid market labor in families

Feminist Economics

2008

The term “unpaid market labor” refers to the direct contributions of unpaid family members to market work that officially belongs to another member of the household. Thus one individual may be construed legally as an owner or entrepreneur, but relatives may ...

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Fiscal Transparency: Global Norms, Domestic Laws, and the Politics of Budgets

Brook Journal of International Law

2008

Since the early 1990s, the issue of fiscal transparency has attracted increasing attention from international institutions, governments, and nongovernment actors concerned with budgets and fiscal policy reform. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and ...

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Tax law and social reproduction: the gender of fiscal policy in an age of privatization

Privatization, Law and the Challenge to Feminism

2002

The drive towards privatization in Canada has at its heart one central claim: that private choice is better than public regulation as a mechanism for allocating resources and ordering social affairs. The main job of the state, according to neo-liberal wisdom, is just to get out ...

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