Taxes remain the largest single expense for Canadian families

They say the only two sure things in this life are death and taxes; well, Canada sure has an abundance of the latter. Here are some of the taxes Canadians are saddled with daily:

• Federal Personal Income Tax
• Ontario Provincial Income Tax
• Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Contributions
• Employment Insurance (EI) Contributions
• Harmonized Sales Tax (HST – 13% in Ontario)
• Federal Excise Tax
• Federal Carbon Tax (Fuel Charge)
• Municipal Property Tax
• Ontario Land Transfer Tax
• Toronto Municipal Land Transfer Tax
• Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST)
• Gasoline Tax (Ontario)
• Federal Fuel Excise Tax
• Vehicle Registration Fees
• Tire Recycling Fee
• Vehicle Air Conditioning Excise Tax
• Alcohol Excise Tax
• Ontario Beer Basic Tax
• Ontario Wine Basic Tax
• Ontario Tobacco Tax
• Cannabis Excise Duty
• Federal Corporate Income Tax
• Ontario Corporate Income Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• Dividend Tax
• Employer Health Tax (Ontario)
• Payroll Health Tax
• Airport Improvement Fee
• Air Traveler’s Security Charge (ATSC)
• Customs Duties & Import Taxes
• Estate Administration Tax (Ontario Probate)
• Capital Gains Tax on Death
• Blue Box Recycling Fees
• Environmental Handling Fees (EHF)

Former House of Commons member Michelle Ferreri says, “Canadians are now paying 46% of their pay cheques in taxes,” arguing that rising tax burdens are putting increased pressure on households.

According to the Fraser Institute, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families, and future generations by studying, measuring, and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship, and choice on their well-being. Taxes remain the largest single expense for Canadian families.

The findings are scary, and most Canadians do not know how much they are paying, according to a Fraser Institute report.

“Canadians pay many different taxes to local, provincial and federal governments: income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and payroll taxes, to name a few.”

“While some of these are quite visible (you can see how much personal income tax is taken off your paystub), others are more hidden,” the report says.

Another study by the Fraser Institute, published in 2024, found that the average Canadian family (including single people) paid $48,306 in total taxes.

Given the average family’s total cash income was $114,289 in 2024, this means families paid 42.3% of their incomes in taxes levied by all levels of government. Let this sink in.

Imagine just a few short decades ago, even after adjusting for inflation, the average Canadian family paid just $17,166 in total taxes in 1961 (adjusted for inflation), which represented 33.5% of its total income that year.

From 1961 to 2024, the inflation-adjusted tax bill of the average Canadian family increased by more than 180%.

This is how the average Canadian family’s tax bill compares with how much it spends on the basic necessities like food. In 2024, the average Canadian family spent $12,925 on food, $25,199 on shelter and $2,435 on clothing.

This means the average family spent a larger share of its income on taxes (42.3%) than on basic necessities (35.5%). Recently, taxes have become the largest single expense for Canadian families.

Even though some might argue Canadians get a bit more value in things like   health care for the high taxes they are paying, does this justify this type of taxation? Most think not.

When a nation spends more in taxes than they spend on food, shelter and clothing combined, this does not leave much to enjoy, and this could mean putting oneself in debt just to survive.

Now, the debt most Canadians are in these days is certainly a subject for a different article, so I digress, but in the tax department, Canadians deserve better.