According to the Fraser Institute’s annual calculations, Tax Freedom Day arrives one day later than in 2011, when it fell on June 10. Monday, June 11, 2012, is Tax Freedom Day, the day Canadians have finally earned enough money to pay all the taxes they owe to all levels of government for the year, and start working themselves.
If Canadians were required to pay all of their taxes up front, they would have to pay each and every dollar they earned to governments prior to Tax Freedom Day.
Tax Freedom Day varies from province to province, depending on the taxation levels of provincial and local governments. Alberta continues to enjoy the earliest Tax Freedom Day on May 22, followed by Prince Edward Island on June 2 and New Brunswick on June 6. Manitoba’s Tax Freedom Day falls on June 7 followed by British Columbia (June 8), Ontario (June 10), Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia (June 12), and Quebec on June 17. Newfoundland and Labrador has the latest Tax Freedom Day, June 21.
All but three provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, BC, and Alberta) experience a later Tax Freedom Day in 2012 than in 2011. Quebec has the longest delay in Tax Freedom Day, with celebrations being postponed by four days this year.
Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia have significant natural resources which provide the provinces with royalties; however, there is an ongoing debate over whether natural resource royalties should be considered a tax. If royalties are excluded from the Tax Freedom Day calculations, then Tax Freedom Day arrives 24 days earlier in Newfoundland and Labrador, 11 days earlier in Saskatchewan, nine days earlier in Alberta, three days earlier in British Columbia, and two days earlier nationwide.
Detailed information on what Canada’s tax freedom day means to all employees can be found on the Fraser Institute website.
Happy Tax Freedom Day to all!
Yosie Saint-Cyr
First Reference Human Resources and Compliance Managing Editor
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