The total taxes imposed on the average Canadian family consumes 41.7 per cent of their income through a combination of obvious and hidden taxes, a number that may increase in the future, according to the B.C.-based Fraser Institute.
In 2009, the average Canadian family earning $69,175 faced a tax bill of $28,878, of which $9,341 or 13.5 per cent was made up of income taxes.
The Fraser Institute outlined a series of additional taxes in a column by economists Niels Veldhuis and Milagros Palacios, drawing attention to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI), and health care taxes paid by residents of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. The average Canadian family paid roughly $6,074 across those three tax segments in 2009. As three constitute payroll taxes, and represent the second-largest government levy.
The average family also paid $2,834 in property taxes, $4,260 in sales taxes and $1,757 on liquor, tobacco and amusement in 2009.
The situation may worsen in the future, say the authors, as budget deficits being run by federal and provincial governments will mean that current taxes will be insufficient to cover government spending.
Including deficits, the authors estimate Canadian families will face a future tax bill of an additional $2,836.
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