Op-Ed: FRASER INSTITUTE – Taxes Versus the Necessities of Life

The Canadian Consumer Tax Index, 2024 edition

Summary

• The Canadian Consumer Tax Index tracks the total tax bill of the average Canadian family from 1961 to 2023. Including all types of taxes, that bill has increased by 2,705% since 1961.
  
• In 2023, the average Canadian family earned an income of $109,235 and paid total taxes equaling
  $46,988 (43.0%). In 1961, the average family had an income of $5,000 and paid a total tax bill of
  $1,675 (33.5%).
  
• Taxes have grown much more rapidly than any other single expenditure for the average Canadian family: expenditures on shelter increased by 2,006%, food by 901%, and clothing by 478% from 1961 to 2023.
  
• The 2,705% increase in the tax bill has also greatly outpaced the increase in the Consumer Price Index (901%), which measures the average price that consumers pay for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, health and personal care, education, and other items.
  
• The average Canadian family now spends more of its income on taxes (43.0%) than it does on basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing combined (35.6%). By comparison, 33.5% of the average family’s income went to pay taxes in 1961 while 56.5% went to basic necessities.