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| EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.May 24 is Tax Freedom Day—but there’s no reason to celebrate
Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on May 24, 2021
- In 2021, the average Canadian family will earn $124,659 in income and pay an estimated $48,757 in total taxes (39.1%).
- If the average Canadian family had to pay its taxes up front, it would have worked until May 23 to pay the total tax bill imposed on it by all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and local).
- This means that Tax Freedom Day, the day in the year when the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes imposed on it, falls on May 24.
- Tax Freedom Day in 2021 comes seven days later than in 2020, when it fell on May 17. This change is due to the expectation that the total tax revenue forecasted by Canadian governments will increase faster than the incomes of Canadians.
- Tax Freedom Day for each province varies according to the extent of the provincially levied tax burden. The earliest provincial Tax Freedom Day falls on May 13 in Manitoba, while the latest falls on June 3 in Quebec.
- Canadians are right to be thinking about the tax implications of the $233.5 billion in projected federal and provincial government deficits in 2021. For this reason, we calculated a Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day, the day on which average Canadians would start working for themselves if governments were obliged to cover current expenditures with current taxation. In 2021, the Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day arrives on July 7.
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Milagros Palacios
Director, Addington Centre for Measurement, Fraser InstituteMilagros Palacios is the Director for the Addington Centre for Measurement at the Fraser Institute. She holds a B.S. in IndustrialEngineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Concepcion, Chile. Ms. Palacios has studied public policy involving taxation, government finances, investment, productivity, labour markets, and charitable giving, for nearly 10 years. Since joining the Institute, Ms. Palacios has authored or coauthored over 70 comprehensive research studies, 70 commentaries and four books. Her recent commentaries have appeared in major Canadian newspapers such as the National Post, Toronto Sun, Windsor Star, and Vancouver Sun.… Read more -
Jake Fuss
Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser InstituteJake Fuss is Director of Fiscal Studies for the Fraser Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master’s Degree inPublic Policy from the University of Calgary. Mr. Fuss has written commentaries appearing in major Canadian newspapers including the Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, and National Post. His research covers a wide range of policy issues including government spending, debt, taxation, labour policy, and charitable giving.… Read more -
Nathaniel Li
Senior Economist, Fraser InstituteNathaniel Li is a Senior Economist at the Fraser Institute. He holds a B.A. from the Fudan University in China anda Ph.D. in Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Guelph. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute, he worked for the University of Toronto as a postdoctoral fellow and the University of Guelph as a research associate. His past research work has been published in many high-quality, peer-reviewed academic journals, including the Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural Economics, Preventive Medicine, and Canadian Public Policy. His current research covers a wide range of issues in fiscal, education, and labour-market policies.… Read more