From: AlanBaggett@volcanomail.com   
      
   Lorne Gunter: Its Time for a Tax Revolt in Canada : CRA SOTW   
       
   By Lorne Gunter   
      
   This country badly needs a tax revolt.   
      
   According to a report released this week by Vancouver’s Fraser Institute,   
   the average Canadian family earned just over $82,000 in 2016 and paid taxes of   
   just over $35,000.   
      
   That means the typical family saw 42.5% of its income gobbled up by one level   
   of government or another.   
      
   That’s a higher percentage than families in every other G7 country, except   
   France.   
      
   That’s right, the Germans paid lower taxes than we did in 2016. And the   
   Brits did too.   
      
   So did the Italians, the Japanese and the Americans.   
      
   According to Fraser, the 42.5% we surrender to federal, provincial and   
   municipal governments is more than we pay for food, clothing and shelter –   
   combined! We pay 37.4% for the basic necessities.   
      
   And what do we get for all that tax money? Basically two things: very happy   
   public-sector workers and tons of waste.   
      
   Fraser looked at every auditor general’s report for the past 25 years and   
   determined that the federal government alone has wasted nearly $200 billion   
   simply by ignoring AGs’ recommendations.   
      
   On top of that, half of all taxes paid go to the salaries of public servants,   
   who now earn salaries that are on average 10% higher than those of   
   private-sector workers doing comparable jobs. Plus, they also have much better   
   pensions, job security and    
   benefits, work shorter hours and retire earlier.   
      
   Since taxes consume $2 out of every $5 Canadians earn, and since public   
   servants’ wages consume half of all taxes collected, that means $1 out of   
   every $5 a Canadian earns goes just to paying civil servants, teachers,   
   bureaucrats, judges, social    
   workers and other government employees.   
      
   And spare me the lectures on how the “rich” don’t pay their fair share.   
   The top 10% of Canadian income earners paid closer to 56% of their income in   
   taxes.   
      
   Enough is enough.   
      
   No government in the country has a revenue problem. No government brings in   
   too little money, even though many are running deficits.   
      
   Governments are going into debt because they have spending addictions, not   
   because Canadians are paying too few taxes.   
      
   And yet, despite all of the taxes we already pay, the federal Liberal   
   government is about to impose one of the largest tax increases in history on   
   middle-class Canadians.   
      
   Remember all the Liberals’ high-minded talk during the 2015 federal election   
   campaign about standing up for the middle class?   
      
   Several campaign ads featured Justin Trudeau claiming a Liberal government   
   would ask the rich “to pay a little more,” so his party could give   
   middle-class taxpayers some much-needed relief.   
      
   Now those same Liberals are talking about small business owners and farmers   
   – the very soul of the middle class – as if they were criminal tax cheats.   
      
   This summer, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has proposed eliminating many of   
   the tax concessions employed by entrepreneurs and farmers to help them make up   
   for the lack of benefits, pensions and job security salaried employees take   
   for granted.   
      
   Because they have to save for their own retirements and pay their own health   
   benefits, because they get no paid vacations, sick days, overtime or   
   severance, and because they are constantly at risk of losing everything   
   (including their homes), governments    
   have typically allowed entrepreneurs and agricultural producers more   
   write-offs than other taxpayers.   
      
   Small business owners may also lower their taxes by “sprinkling” their   
   incomes around – paying dividends or salaries to family members who did a   
   little work for their companies.   
      
   But because the Liberals are so greedy for more tax money, Morneau wants to   
   close these “loopholes” and raise billions more (perhaps tens of billions   
   more) every year.   
      
   Stop it. Now.   
      
   ----------------------------------------------------------    
   Miss a Tax Tale Miss a lot!    
   Visit the CRA SOTW Library at http://canada.revenue.agency.angelfire.com    
      
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   Alan Baggett - http://www.taxcollectorsbible.com/ - Tax Collector's Bible   
      
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