There was a news flash from the Calgary based Fraser Institute the other day. Researchers there found that the tax portion of the income of an average Canadian family had gone up more than any other necessary expenditure since 1961. As the Fraser Institute only sends out tax information to convince people they are overtaxed, they left out some of the most interesting information.
When you consider what we got for our tax money in 1961, there is no surprise that we are paying more today. The Canada Pension Plan and Medicare are just two very major components of today’s taxation. Those programs where introduced after 1961 and could not be duplicated today on an individual basis by the average Canadian family.
The bias of the researchers in this release is obvious. What gives them away is what they try to hide. Their own figures point out that in 1961 the average Canadian family spent 91 per cent of their income on clothing, food, shelter and taxes. Their figures also show that in 2013, the average family spent only 78 per cent of their income on the same necessities. What it means is that despite the alarmed sensationalism of the Fraser Institute, the average Canadian family now has more than twice the disposable income for savings and optional expenditures.
And while on that vein, we should also question why the researchers would include alcohol, amusement, automobile and tobacco taxes in the tax figures but not encompass the costs in the other expenditures. That does not compute.
What also does not compute is the failure of all Canadian governments to help constrain shelter costs for Canadians. Conservative groups such as the Fraser Institute think Canadians are unrealistic in their wage demands. They seem unwilling to recognize that Canadians live in a cold climate. Our shelter costs are higher than in many other countries. With this are the higher heating and cooling costs, Clothing also costs more in Canada than in more temperate regions of the world.
And yes, our taxes are higher than in some other countries. In Canada you are assured medical care. We have a superior education system. We have the snow taken off our streets in winter. We spend more on our military. Many things cost more in this country. And this country is worth it. If you think you pay too much in taxes, please look at what you get in countries where they pay less.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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