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Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on May 24, 2021

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  • In 2021, the average Canadian family will earn $124,659 in income and pay an estimated $48,757 in total taxes (39.1%).
  • If the average Canadian family had to pay its taxes up front, it would have worked until May 23 to pay the total tax bill imposed on it by all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and local).
  • This means that Tax Freedom Day, the day in the year when the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay the taxes imposed on it, falls on May 24.
  • Tax Freedom Day in 2021 comes seven days later than in 2020, when it fell on May 17. This change is due to the expectation that the total tax revenue forecasted by Canadian governments will increase faster than the incomes of Canadians.
  • Tax Freedom Day for each province varies according to the extent of the provincially levied tax burden. The earliest provincial Tax Freedom Day falls on May 13 in Manitoba, while the latest falls on June 3 in Quebec.
  • Canadians are right to be thinking about the tax implications of the $233.5 billion in projected federal and provincial government deficits in 2021. For this reason, we calculated a Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day, the day on which average Canadians would start working for themselves if governments were obliged to cover current expenditures with current taxation. In 2021, the Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day arrives on July 7.

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