Average Canadian to Pay $37,700 in Taxes This Year

Summary

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With the income tax filing deadline having just passed, many Canadians are likely still getting over the shock of just how much income tax they paid last year. Income taxes however account for only about one-third of the total taxes Canadians pay. Add property taxes, sales taxes, profit taxes, health taxes, social security taxes, alcohol taxes, tobacco taxes, fuel taxes and many others to the mix and the average Canadian will pay $37,700 in taxes (42.6 per cent of income) in 2009.

Let's not forget the massive "stimulus" packages included in this year's federal and provincial budgets which will benefit a host of special interest groups including farmers, the auto industry, forestry, tourism, environmentalists, aboriginals, and arts and culture. Nor should we forget the $10.5 billion the federal government just poured into General Motors.

Canadians should also remember that we're not paying for all of this spending now -- the federal government and most provincial governments are running deficits this year and into the foreseeable future. At some point however, this debt must be paid back by taxes. In other words, deficits should be considered as deferred taxation. And it is also why later tax freedom days in the future are a real possibility.

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Average Canadian to Pay $37,700 in Taxes This Year

Saturday was Tax Freedom Day, the day the average Canadian has earned enough money to cover the total amount of taxes that they are obliged to pay to various levels of Canadian government. From he...

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