The article by Philip Cross, a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, argues that cutting spending is the most effective way to reduce Canada’s deficit rather than increasing taxes. He presents data from Statistics Canada showing that higher-income Canadians already pay a disproportionately large share of federal and provincial income taxes.
Here are some key points from the article:
- Tax burden on high-income earners: The top 1% of people earned 10% of all income but paid 21.3% of all federal and provincial income taxes in 2018.
- Progressive tax system: The top 5% received 23.1% of income and paid 40.8% of taxes, while the bottom half of Canadians only paid 5.0% of taxes.
- Fair share of taxation: The article argues that high-income earners already pay more than their fair share of taxes and deserve a tax cut.
- Liberal budget plan: The Liberal government’s budget plan relies on tax increases rather than spending cuts, which will lower the income of Canadians.
Overall, the article presents data-driven arguments to support the idea that cutting spending is the most effective way to reduce Canada’s deficit.
