Study
| EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.Canadian generosity has hit a new low
Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2020 Generosity Index
Summary
- Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers that donated to charity among the provinces (22.4%) during the 2018 tax year while New Brunswick and Newfoundland & Labrador had the lowest (17.4%). Manitoba also donated the highest percentage of its aggregate income to charity among the provinces (0.78%) while Quebec donated the lowest (0.24%).
- The general trend in recent years is that a declining percentage of Canadian tax filers are donating to charity and they are donating less as a percentage of income.
- Nationwide, a higher percentage of tax filers donated to charity in Canada (19.4%) than in the United States (9.7%) in 2018. Conversely, Canadians (at 0.54%) gave a lower percentage of their aggregate income to charity than did Americans (at 1.97%).
- The percentage of tax filers donating to charity varies significantly among US states and Canadian provinces and territories. All US jurisdictions, with the exception of Maryland and the District of Columbia, have a lower percentage of tax filers donating to charity than any Canadian province.
- The percentage of aggregate income donated was generally less in the Canadian provinces and territories than in the US states. All US states, with the exception of West Virginia, gave a higher percentage of aggregate income to charity than any Canadian province or territory.
- The top three subnational jurisdictions in the overall Generosity Index rankings are Utah (scoring 7.6 out of 10.0), District of Columbia (6.8) and Maryland (6.6). Manitoba is the highest-scoring Canadian province (5.6), moved up from 44th place (out of 64) in the 2019 Generosity Index into a tie for 4th with Georgia.
- While some Canadian jurisdictions climbed substantially in the ranking of this year’s Generosity Index, it was not due to increased generosity in Canada, but rather to tax policy changes in the US that caused a dramatic decline in the percentage of tax filers with claimed charitable contributions.
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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 -
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 Institute
Jake 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