Is the tax system unfair to high earners?

A new report dispels a myth that Canada’s richest families are not paying their fair share of tax.

In fact, the Fraser Institute study finds that the top 20% income earners pay 56% of all Canadian tax, higher than the 49.1% of all income in Canada that those earning $186,875 or more earn.

By contrast the bottom 50% of income-earning families earn 20% of all income but pay 14.6% of taxes.

“The notion of tax fairness has come up recently to justify even higher taxes on top earners, but in reality, they already pay a disproportionate share of the tax bill,” said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Measuring the Distribution of Taxes in Canada: Do the Rich Pay Their “Fair Share”?

“Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the reality is that Canada’s top earners already pay a disproportionate share of the taxes, and that share has grown over the years,” Lammam said.

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