Conservative Think Tank manipulates the facts

Fraser report conceals big picture on taxes

By: Jennifer Wallner and Daniel Béland Published on Thu Aug 14 2014

 “The average Canadian family spends less on basic necessities thanks to taxes and the government programs they support.”

 

That should have been Tuesday’s headline blasted by the media. Instead, a recent study from the Fraser Institute pushed the opposite message. The study, however, is fundamentally flawed.
 

Tracking the total tax bill of the average Canadian family from 1961 to 2013, the authors claim that taxes have grown more rapidly than any other single expenditure, like housing, clothing, food and education.
 

What the study fails to report is that, thanks to government programs, Canadians are paying less for many of these necessities. Government programs that are paid for by, you guessed it, taxes.
 

In 1961, there was no universal health care, limited public education, limited public transportation systems and the Trans-Canada Highway wasn’t even open.
 

Consider education. In 1961, less than 10 per cent of Canadian schools had libraries. By 1972 that number had jumped to 57.8 per cent.
 

Only 20 per cent of teachers in the 1950s had university degrees. By the 1970s that number had jumped to just under 60 per cent and today all teachers have university qualifications.
 

In 1990, just under 40 per cent of Canadians didn’t even have a high-school diploma. Now that number is less than 20 per cent.

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/08/14/fraser_report_conceals_big_picture_on_taxes.html