- Introduction
- ♦ Myth 1
- Canadians are overtaxed
- ♦ Myth 2
- We have one of the highest tax rates among the 29 countries in the OECD — the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — and the G-7
- ♦ Myth 3
- Taxes on corporations in Canada are too high, especially compared to those in the U.S., discouraging foreign investment and even driving corporate investors from the country
- ♦ Myth 4
- The standard of living of ordinary Canadian working people has decreased over the past 20 years, and rising taxes are largely to blame
- ♦ Myth 5
- Canada needs a flat tax. Our current income tax system penalizes high-income people. This results in a ‘brain drain’ to the U.S., and it discourages wealthy individuals from investing
- ♦ Myth 6
- Canada is a very expensive country in which to do business. One way of getting around this barrier to investment is to provide tax breaks and special tax deductions as incentives
- ♦ Myth 7
- Governments can’t create jobs. All they can do is help and encourage the private sector to create jobs
- ♦ Myth 8
- The stimulative effects on the economy of reducing taxes — especially on the wealthy — would lead to an increase in government revenue, not a decrease
- ♦ Myth 9
- Cancelling the GST now would be too difficult. It raises a large amount of revenue and is an easy tax to collect. It is fair because it is applied equally to everyone
- ♦ Myth 10
- When asked what governments should do with their surpluses, Canadians say that they want tax cuts. Individual consumers know better than governments how to spend their money
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| About the Author
Murray Dobbin is a B.C.-based writer and broadcaster, a CCPA Research
Associate, and a member of the CCPA’s Board of Directors. He
is the author of several best-selling books, including his latest, now
available in paperback, “The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen.” |
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