Many Canadians say they pay too much income tax: think tank poll

A new study finds Canadians feel over-taxed and underserved.

A majority of Canadians say they pay too much income tax, according to a new poll by public policy think tank Montreal Economic Institute (MEI).

The poll, which surveyed 1,005 Canadians, found 63 per cent of respondents believe they pay too much income tax. Seventy per cent said their tax burden reduces their living standards.

Renaud Brossard, vice president of communications at the MEI, attributes this to the fact people are feeling the sting from the cost of living.

“They’re feeling that the government is not doing enough to help them, to leave them a little bit more money in their pocket,” he says.

The poll also found 56 per cent of respondents believe they do not get their money’s worth from their taxes from their provincial governments.

“Politicians should take note of those results and actually change their approach, not to do more spending, but rather to do better spending if they are to spend, and probably to cut their spending,” says Brossard.

“At all levels of government, we don’t see anywhere where there’s more than 50 per cent of Canadians that think that they’re getting good value for money. That should be an indictment of the way that our money is being spent,” he says.

In a news release, Brossard states taxpayers are sending a message.

“They’ve had enough of paying more to receive less,” he notes. “As grocery and housing prices keep climbing higher and higher, taxpayers are fed up with seeing their governments spending so recklessly.”

The poll noted 66 per cent of respondents think corporate subsidies are expensive and bring poor results.

“Canadians do not share the enthusiasm of their politicians when it comes to subsidies,” says Brossard.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation Atlantic director Devin Drover has some ideas on what taxpayers want to see moving forward.

“There’s kind of two things the taxpayers we hear from everyday in Nova Scotia want to see, and the first is making sure that life is a bit more affordable for them and whether that’d further reductions in the HST,” Drover says.

“They want to see the province return to a balanced budget so that less and less money is being wasted on government interest charges.”

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Stephanie Tsicos