The Fraser Institute released a study which showed that we spend more on taxes than we do on shelter, water, food etc. Craig McInnes investigates and finds out that our tax burden has actually been falling over the past few years and it's now at a 1972 level. The Fraser Institute and their Conservative buddies are trying to spin the figures to their advantage. In fact it's all lies. Taxes are not going up. They are going down. We Canadians do not want any of this propaganda.
Popular, but, even using the Fraser Institute's own self-serving method of calculating tax burden, it's not true. Our tax burden has not been rising steadily since 1961, as advertised. In fact, over the past five years it has been steadily falling and it is now at a level that it reached first in about 1972.
But a headline that says the tax burden of Canadian families has remained relatively unchanged for the past 38 years doesn't have quite the same impact as the lead picked by the Fraser Institute, which was that the total tax bill of the average Canadian family has increased by 1,624 per cent since 1961.
Read about it at the
Vancouver Sun.
Taxes have been going down since January 23, 2006, that's four years and three months.
ReplyDeleteAfter the numbers are adjusted for inflation, Canadian families are paying 137% more in taxes today than in 1961. So taxes ARE going up, but because family incomes have also gone up the tax rate has held fairly steady.
ReplyDeleteLetter to the Editor, Vancouver Sun
ReplyDeleteRE: Overtaxed? Tale of rising tax burden just isn't true, April 27, 2010
Dear Editor
Craig McInnes’ April 27 column (Overtaxed? Tale of rising tax burden just isn't true) is filled with errors, the most significant being his statement that “[the average Canadian family’s] tax burden has not been rising steadily since 1961.” No matter how you slice it, this simply is not true.
The total tax bill of the average Canadian family has increased from $1,675 in 1961 to $28,878 in 2009 – an increase of 1,624%. In contrast, the income of the average Canadian family has only increased by 1,284% from 1961 to 2009; spending on housing has increased by 1,198%, food by 559%, and clothing by 526%.
Most telling, however, is that the Consumer Price Index, which measures the average price that consumers pay for the goods and services that they buy of their own choice, has only increased by 512% over the same period. This means the increase in the total tax bill is three times larger than the rise in inflation.
Even as percentage of income, the average Canadian family pays significantly more taxes today than in 1961: 41.7% versus 33.5%.
But it doesn’t end there. Most federal and provincial governments are running budget deficits, meaning that current taxes do not cover current spending. By running deficits, Canadian governments of today are delaying tax bills that will inevitably come due. Including deferred taxation (deficits) results in a total tax bill for the average Canadian family of $31,714 and higher percentage increases than noted above.
Mr. McInnes is also wrong in asserting that taxes paid by business “make [his] tax burden lighter.” Businesses do not bear the burden of these taxes—people do. The cost of business taxation is ultimately passed onto ordinary Canadians in the form of higher prices, lower wages, and lower returns on investment.
It’s up to each individual Canadian to determine if they are overtaxed. Our report provides a clear picture of the price Canadians pay for government services and how that bill has changed over time. And the reality is, taxes have risen significantly.
Niels Veldhuis
Fraser Institute Vice President Research