Some Tax FACTS this Election Season

You like Apples?

There is a whole lot of stupid going on this election.

From all parties.

The Conservatives are making hay about Michael Ignatieff perhaps being less than candid about his family's so-called "humble beginnings" in Canada that barely permitted Michael and his brother to attend private school at Lower Canada College.

The Liberals are attacking the Conservatives lack of "respect for democracy", pointing to the Conservative "contempt" of Parliament (though, in fairness, the finding was made by a partisan committee composed primarily of Bloc, NDP and Liberals).

Meanwhile, there is very little factual information being provided to Canadians to respond to the Liberals demands that we increase corporate taxes to cover increase spending initiatives or to respond to the Conservative demand that we maintain lower corporate taxes and cut spending even further.

Well.

Here are a few facts to think about - published by Patrice Martineau of the Tax Data Division of Statistics Canada:

• The one-tenth of taxfilers who were in the highest earnings bracket provided more than one-half of the revenue from federal income tax in 2002. And, their share of the tax pie has been increasing. In 1990, this 10% of taxfilers accounted for 46.0% of total federal income tax; by 2002, this group accounted for 52.6%.

Read that again.

The top 10% of income earners paid 52.6% of all income taxes collected - and their burden has increased since 1990.

And there is more:

• At the other end of the scale, the one-half of taxfilers with the lowest incomes saw their share of the tax pie decline during the same period. In 1990, this group accounted for 6.7% of total federal income tax paid; in 2002, this proportion had declined to 4.4%. In fact, this group paid less federal income tax in 2002 than in 1990, in spite of higher incomes.

Take another look at that, Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff - as you complain bitterly about how the wealthy are getting a free ride on the backs of the less fortunate.  The fact is, the StatsCan fact is, that the bottom half of taxfilers paid only 4.4% of total tax collected - a number which is dropping, in fact, despite higher incomes.

Perhaps take a moment to visualize the reality of this information;

You and 99 others are tasked with picking apples.   

Over the course of the day - you and 9 others pick over 52 baskets - 5.8 baskets each.

During the same time - the other 90 people pick 48 baskets between them.  That's a little over a half basket each. 

Of those - 50 of your fellow apple-pickers manage to pick up a total of only 4 baskets all day long.  Less than 1/10 of a basket each.

And then the foreman comes along and pays you all the same amount - in fact, the 50 people who picked up only 4 baskets between them get paid a little bit extra because, well, they "needed more".  To be sure some of them are elderly or handicapped - but a good portion of them are healthy, able adults.

Now.

Imagine that there is an election for "King of the Orchard".  And, in an effort to curry favor with the 50 who picked up only 4 baskets of apples, two potential Kings - we'll call them Jack and Michael, campaign on a platform that the top 9 apple pickers should have to increase the number of baskets they pick in a day, and that even MORE money should go to the 50 lowest basket pickers.

This is the reality of Canada's tax and social care system.

You like apples?  How 'bout them apples?