Tax Facts 8

W. Bruce Wrigley is a fixed-income and derivative products salesman in
the Treasury Department Union Bank of Switzerland (Canada).

For many of us, the mention of income taxes evokes memories of
frustrating weekends in April. Most taxpayers have probably voiced some
opinions—positive and negative—about what they are receiving for
their money. This book forces us to ask a more basic question: What do
we actually pay for our government services?

As this book makes clear, the various levels of government are
constantly finding innovative ways of increasing their take of our
income. In many instances, we are not aware of indirect taxes beyond the
GST and provincial sales taxes. This book points out that “quite apart
from the tax they pay when they receive their incomes, Canadians pay, on
average, a further 12.5 percent in indirect taxes when they spend their
income. Furthermore, one-third of all government revenue is collected in
this indirect-hidden form.” What if all levels of government decided
to eliminate their debt in 20 years? The authors’ sobering answer is
that the average Canadian family would see its tax burden rise $5450 in
the first year, along with a tax rate increase from 44 percent to 53
percent, decreasing to 28 percent by 2012.

This thought-provoking and well-researched statistical handbook
illuminates many other interesting trends in relative tax burdens among
income subgroups, and in the changing ratio between income required for
necessities and income required to manage the tax burden. These tax
facts are an excellent initiation for either the curious taxpayer or the
serious student of taxation policy.