Tag

GST

2 articles

AccountabilityJune 9, 20266 min read
Tax Freedom Day Is June 9, 2026. The Average Canadian Family Will Hand $72,539 to Government This Year — 43.5% of Its Income. Here's the Full Breakdown.
Tax Freedom Day is the Fraser Institute's annual calculation of the day the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes it owes to federal, provincial, and local governments combined. In 2026, that day is June 9. By the Fraser methodology, the average Canadian family (two or more individuals) will earn $166,790 in cash income this year and pay $72,539 in total taxes — 43.5% of its income. Tax Freedom Day arrives one day later than 2025 (June 8) because total taxes are growing faster (+3.0%, +$2,098) than cash income (+2.2%, +$3,575). The single largest year-over-year increase was income taxes (+$1,057 per family), followed by payroll & health taxes (+$569), sales taxes (+$446), property taxes (+$189), and "other taxes" (+$283). Profit taxes, import duties, alcohol/tobacco/amusement taxes, and natural-resource levies all declined slightly. Two provinces raised personal income tax rates for 2026: British Columbia raised its lowest bracket from 5.06% to 5.60%, and Prince Edward Island introduced a new top bracket for income over $200,000 at 20.0%. The earliest provincial Tax Freedom Day falls on May 20 in Saskatchewan; the latest is June 27 in Quebec, with Ontario at June 8. The full category-by-category breakdown of the $72,539 tax bill — every line from the Fraser Table 2 Canada column, summing exactly to $72,539 — is in the chart attached to this article.
AccountabilityJune 2, 20267 min read
Ontario's PCs Just Defeated a Bill to Remove HST From Groceries. Here's the Math on Why Sales Tax Hits the Middle Class Hardest.
On May 27, 2026, the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government in Ontario voted down Bill 113, the Fair Prices and Tax-Free Groceries Act, 2026, introduced by NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic. The bill would have removed the entire 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from all food and drink sold in Ontario — including the prepared meals, deli food, snacks, restaurant meals, and many packaged products that currently carry HST (most basic groceries are already zero-rated). The bill also proposed ending the secret lease covenants that allow major grocery chains like Loblaws and Sobeys to block competing stores from opening nearby. The Ontario Liberal Party has a narrower proposal: remove the provincial portion of HST (the 8% provincial share) from prepared food purchases under $20, costing approximately $500 million per year in foregone revenue, partly offset by a corporate-profit surtax and a high-income tax surtax. This article walks the defeated bill, the structural incidence of HST on Ontario households, the GST/HST credit and why it does not reach the middle class, and the honest caveats — including the fact that universally consumed goods cut in tax also benefit the wealthy in absolute-dollar terms.

Tax Freedom Day Is June 9, 2026. The Average Canadian Family Will Hand $72,539 to Government This Year — 43.5% of Its Income. Here's the Full Breakdown.

Tax Freedom Day is the Fraser Institute's annual calculation of the day the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes it owes to federal, provincial, and local governments combined. In 2026, that day is June 9. By the Fraser methodology, the average Canadian family (two or more individuals) will earn $166,790 in cash income this year and pay $72,539 in total taxes — 43.5% of its income. Tax Freedom Day arrives one day later than 2025 (June 8) because total taxes are growing faster (+3.0%, +$2,098) than cash income (+2.2%, +$3,575). The single largest year-over-year increase was income taxes (+$1,057 per family), followed by payroll & health taxes (+$569), sales taxes (+$446), property taxes (+$189), and "other taxes" (+$283). Profit taxes, import duties, alcohol/tobacco/amusement taxes, and natural-resource levies all declined slightly. Two provinces raised personal income tax rates for 2026: British Columbia raised its lowest bracket from 5.06% to 5.60%, and Prince Edward Island introduced a new top bracket for income over $200,000 at 20.0%. The earliest provincial Tax Freedom Day falls on May 20 in Saskatchewan; the latest is June 27 in Quebec, with Ontario at June 8. The full category-by-category breakdown of the $72,539 tax bill — every line from the Fraser Table 2 Canada column, summing exactly to $72,539 — is in the chart attached to this article.

Ontario's PCs Just Defeated a Bill to Remove HST From Groceries. Here's the Math on Why Sales Tax Hits the Middle Class Hardest.

On May 27, 2026, the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government in Ontario voted down Bill 113, the Fair Prices and Tax-Free Groceries Act, 2026, introduced by NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic. The bill would have removed the entire 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) from all food and drink sold in Ontario — including the prepared meals, deli food, snacks, restaurant meals, and many packaged products that currently carry HST (most basic groceries are already zero-rated). The bill also proposed ending the secret lease covenants that allow major grocery chains like Loblaws and Sobeys to block competing stores from opening nearby. The Ontario Liberal Party has a narrower proposal: remove the provincial portion of HST (the 8% provincial share) from prepared food purchases under $20, costing approximately $500 million per year in foregone revenue, partly offset by a corporate-profit surtax and a high-income tax surtax. This article walks the defeated bill, the structural incidence of HST on Ontario households, the GST/HST credit and why it does not reach the middle class, and the honest caveats — including the fact that universally consumed goods cut in tax also benefit the wealthy in absolute-dollar terms.