Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day On Monday
Posted June 16, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
- Congratulations. As of Monday, you start working for yourself.
No, you’re not being fired and you won’t have to look for a new job.
But June 19th marks Tax Freedom Day in Canada, the moment you stop funneling all your hard earned cash to the government in levies and actually get to keep the rest for yourself.
The special, albeit fictional, ‘event’ has been tracked by the Fraser Institute think tank since 1992 and is designed to measure the sometimes onerous tax burden borne by any Canadian who ever earned a paycheque.
The Institute notes T.F.D. actually happens five days earlier than it did last year, mainly because of tax cuts made by federal and provincial governments. The 2005 June 24th date was the latest ever recorded.
But those who track the ever shifting financial freedom date note the fact it’s moved back slightly is no reason to celebrate.
“Tax Freedom Day falls over a month and a half later than it did 45 years ago,” explains Fraser Institute economist Niels Veldhuis. “In 1961, the earliest year for which the calculation has been made, Canada’s Tax Freedom Day was May 3.”
How do they arrive at the date?
Researchers pour over everything you pay for on an annual basis, including your income taxes, sales taxes, property levies, health care plan deductions, sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, gas taxes, and even what you shell out to renew your license. The total shows how long it takes you to pay all that off until you finally get to keep whatever’s left.
So just how much do you dole out? The Institute claims the average Canuck household earns roughly $80,000 annually – and $36,650 of that goes to various levels of governments.
Whether you actually get any value for all that money is up to you decide, mostly at the next election.
To calculate your own personal Tax Freedom Day, click here.
