Fraser Institute News Release: June 9 is Tax Freedom Day, when Canadians start working for themselves and not government

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - June 09, 2017) - Canadian families celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 9 this year, according to the Fraser Institute's annual calculations.

Tax Freedom Day measures the total yearly tax burden imposed on Canadian families by federal, provincial and municipal governments. If you had to pay all your taxes up front, you'd give government every dollar you earned before Tax Freedom Day.

"It's difficult for average Canadians to add up all the taxes they pay in a year because the different levels of government levy such a wide range of taxes, and that's why we do these calculations -- to give Canadians a better understanding of exactly how much they pay to government," said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute.

In 2017, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay $47,135 in total taxes. That's 43.4 per cent of its annual income ($108,674) going to income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, fuel taxes, carbon taxes, "sin" taxes and more.

Represented as days on the calendar, the numbers add up to more than five months of income -- from January 1 to June 8. It's not until June 9 -- Tax Freedom Day -- when families start working for themselves, not the government.

This year, Tax Freedom Day falls one day later than in 2016 when the average Canadian family paid slightly less of its income in taxes (43.3 per cent).

"Tax Freedom Day helps put the total tax burden into perspective, and helps Canadians understand just how much of their money they pay in taxes every year," said Lammam.

Calculate your personal Tax Freedom Day using the Fraser Institute's online calculator at www.fraserinstitute.org.

Tax Freedom Day for each province varies according to the extent of the provincially levied tax burden.

2017 Provincial Tax Freedom Days (earliest to latest)

MEDIA CONTACT:
Charles Lammam, Director, Fiscal Studies
Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:
Bryn Weese, Media Relations Specialist, Fraser Institute
Tel: (604) 688-0221 Ext. 589
E-mail: bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its 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. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org