A new study by the Fraser Institute shows that the average Canadian family spent 43 per cent of its income on taxes in 2023, more than on housing, food and clothing costs combined.
During the year, the average Canadian family earned an income of $109,235 and paid taxes equaling $46,988. “In other words, the average Canadian family spent 43 per cent of its income on taxes compared to 35.6 per cent on basic necessities,” the researchers announced in a statement about the publication’s release.
Entitled Taxes versus the Necessities of Life: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index 2024 edition, they add that in 1961, the start of the period being studied, the average Canadian family spent 33.5 per cent of their income on taxes and 56.5 per cent on basic necessities.
“Taxes have grown much more rapidly than any other single expenditure for the average Canadian family,” they write. “Since 1961, the average Canadian family’s total tax bill has increased nominally by 2,705 per cent, dwarfing increases in annual housing costs (2,006 per cent), clothing (478 per cent) and food (901 per cent).”
The taxes included in the report include income taxes, payroll taxes, health, sales, property and fuel taxes, carbon taxes, vehicle taxes, import taxes and alcohol and tobacco taxes. “And the list goes on,” the report adds. “Average Canadians also pay the taxes levied on businesses. Although businesses pay these taxes directly, the cost of business taxation is ultimately passed onto ordinary Canadians.”
The report also notes that government deficits must also be paid for through taxation. “Deficits should therefore be considered deferred taxation,” they write. “Once deferred taxes are included, the tax bill of the average Canadian family has increased by 2,852 per cent since 1961.”
