BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: HOW THE RICH WON CONTROL OF CANADA'S TAX SYSTEM. McQuaig, Linda. Markham (Ont.), Viking Canada, 1987. 288pp. cloth. $24.95, ISBN 0-670-81678-7. Distributed by Penguin Books Canada. CIP Grades 12 and up Reviewed by David Chadwick Volume 16 Number 4 1988 July Linda McQuaig is a reporter with the Globe and Mail . This book on the evolution of the Canadian tax system over the last three decades is well researched and documented. That its message and insights are largely unknown is itself revealing. While it is common knowledge that thousands of wealthy Canadians and some 60,000 profitable companies pay no income tax, the actual extent of tax avoidance by the rich is largely unknown. As McQuaig points out, under the so-called tax reform of 1987. Canada still has the lowest overall tax on wealth of twenty western industrial nations. In fact, rather than increasing the burden on the wealthy, the federal government is doing just the opposite. Under the guise of lax reform, the maximum tax rate for individuals has been lowered so that the rich will actually pay less. The emphasis will now be on sales tax, which by definition hits the poor the most. Similarly, the official concern about the deficit has been an excuse to raise income taxes some $22 billion in the last three years, with a $2 billion refund this year in time for an election. McQuaig examines many other scams, from the private foundations that are tax havens using 50-cent dollars from taxpayers for their "charity" donations, to the over $30 billion of tax grants, called expenditures each year, that exceed the entire federal deficit. McQuaig has made the mundane world of tax law fascinating for average readers, who will find that their most cynical belief concerning the operation of the tax system falls far short of the actual unfairness of the system. This book belongs in every library and is a natural selection for the best business book of the year. David Chadwick, Winnipeg. Man.