Andrew's Views

Carbon dioxide emissions will become a scarce and valuable commodity in Canada soon. Who will be permitted to emit how much CO2? The answer should not depend upon whether someone has been emitting for a long time or  is just starting a new facility.  I have covered this topic in a recent publication of the C.D. Howe Institute that you can read here:

https://www.cdhowe.org/intelligence-memos/andrew-roman-are-old-polluters-better-new-polluters

 Note: I took this shark’s photo at the Ripley’s Canada Aquarium in Toronto.

According to an August 2017 study by the Fraser Institute Canadians pay, on average, more in taxes than for the basic necessities of life.  A typical Canadian household used 37 per cent of its income on basic necessities but 42.5 per cent of its income in taxes.  (https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/taxes-the-average-canadian-familys-largest-expense)

An average Canadian family with an income of about $83,000 paid $31,000 for basic necessities: housing (rent and mortgage payments), food and clothing, while  paying roughly $35,000 in taxes last year.  (That includes federal, provincial and local taxes, including income, payroll, sales and property taxes.)

Canadians’ tax bill has risen by over 2,000 per cent since 1961, while the Consumer Price Index rose by only 718 per cent over the period, the report said.  Thus, taxes have increased by around 2.8 times as much the general cost of living.

This rate of escalation in the tax share of income cannot go on indefinitely.  All levels of government will have to put tighter limits on their spending, sooner rather than later.  However, that day can be put off for a few more years by the federal government distracting the voting public from government spending increases by complaining that some income groups are not paying their “fair share”.

Is anyone not paying their fair share? Continue reading “Are Government Sharks Eating Too Much of Your Income in Taxes?”