Canadian Social Research Links

Tax Freedom Day

Sites de recherche sociale au Canada

Jour de libération fiscale

August 26, 2008
Le 26 août 2008
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Tax Freedom Day - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden. It is annually calculated in the United States by the Tax Foundation—a Washington, D.C.-based tax research organization. Every dollar that is officially considered income by the U.S. government is counted, and every payment to the U.S. government that is officially considered a tax is counted. Taxes at all levels of government—local, state and federal—are included."


Canada

Tax Freedom Day
When we start working for ourselves, not the government
Canadians pay a wide array of taxes to all levels of government. Have you ever wondered how much tax you pay? How many layers of tax are hidden in purchases you make every day? Use the Personal Tax Freedom Day calculator to determine how much tax you pay and the day you stopped working for government and started working for yourself.
- incl. links to : * Related Publications * Related News Releases * Related Articles & Commentaries * Related Events
Source:
The Fraser Institute

2008 : Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 14

Counterpoint:

Tax Freedom Day: A Cause for Celebration or Consternation?
Prepared by:
Sheena Starky
Economics Division
18 September 2006
"(...) While the idea of Tax Freedom Day is intuitively appealing and media-friendly, the concept does not enjoy unanimous support in Canada or in other countries where similar reports on Tax Freedom Day exist. Specific criticisms of the Tax Freedom Day indicator in Canada centre on methodology and tend to be related to three definitions:
* “average Canadian family;”
* income; and
* taxes.
Critics such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives dispute The Fraser Institute’s choice of methodology, arguing that it systematically exaggerates the tax burden of average Canadians by overestimating taxes paid and/or by underestimating taxpayers’ ability to pay their taxes.
Source:
Parliament of Canada website

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From the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)

Taxes are good for a nation’s health and well-being—study
Press Release
December 6, 2006

The Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation:
A Comparison of High- and Low-Tax Countries - PDF file - 512K, 55 pages
By Neil Brooks and Thaddeus Hwong
December 6, 2006

Taxes and human purpose
December 9, 2005
By Neil Brooks
"(...) In support of their vision of the future, business interests and right-wing political parties keep warning us about the terrible legacy we are leaving our children in the form of a national debt and a bloated public sector. In fact, the much worse legacy we are in danger of leaving our children if we decrease taxes and continue to diminish the role of government in our collective lives is a fractured and divided society, without a sense of itself or its collective responsibility, and in which the economic elite is ever more able to defend itself politically. This would be a truly unjust and truly irresponsible legacy to leave our children."

`Tax freedom day?' Not really
Tax Freedom Day has come and gone. Feel any richer yet?
June 27, 2005

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"Tax Freedom Day" Google.ca Web Search
"Tax Freedom Day" Google.ca News Search
Source:
Google.ca

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United States

Tax Freedom Day - U.S.
"(...) Tax Freedom Day® answers the basic question, "What price is the nation paying for government?"
An official government figure for total tax collections is divided by the nation’s total income. The answer this year is that taxes will amount to 30.8 percent of our income, and the stretch of 113 days from January 1 to April 23 is 30.8 percent of the year. Income and tax data are then parsed out to the states, yielding 50 state-specific Tax Freedom Days."
Source:
The Tax Foundation
The mission of the Tax Foundation is to educate taxpayers about sound tax policy and the size of the tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government.

Counterpoint:

TAX FOUNDATION FIGURES DO NOT REPRESENT TYPICAL HOUSEHOLDS’ TAX BURDENS:
Figures May Mislead Policymakers, Journalists, and the Public
April 23, 2008
By Robert Greenstein and Aviva Aron-Dine
Each year, the Tax Foundation releases a report projecting “Tax Freedom Day,” which it describes as the day when “Americans will finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.” Over the years, many pundits and policymakers have misinterpreted the Tax Foundation’s report as reflecting the tax burdens that the broad swath of middle-income families must shoulder.

In fact, however, according to data from authoritative sources such as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, middle-income Americans pay significantly less in taxes as a share of their income than the Tax Foundation’s report implies.

This analysis explores significant flaws in the Tax Foundation’s report.

This piece is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-08tax.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-08tax.pdf (7pp.)

Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

 

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