Death and taxes. As a family doctor, I work everyday to delay the former but could not do my job without the latter. Taxes pay for the hospitals my patients use, for the tests I order, and for the income I earn.
Politicians however, often describe taxes as a ‘burden.’ When elections come around, so do promises of ‘relief.’ But are taxes such a terrible disease?
In reality, Canada’s taxes are intentionally low. Canada’s low tax regime may instead be responsible for making life more expensive, less affordable, and yes, even responsible for making some of us sick.
As Canadians turn away from the United States, we are increasingly looking to the European Union as an important partner and ally. If Canada were an EU member state, something more of us wish were true, we would be near the bottom in tax revenue. Taxes in Canada are approximately 33 percent of GDP. Germany and France, the EU’s largest members, are at or near the top. They collect more than 40.9 per cent and 47.3 percent of GDP in taxes, respectively.
