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Why is this significant?

“The Trudeau government has repeatedly claimed to cut taxes on the vast majority of families and our findings show that’s not the case…The reason why the Trudeau government is claiming they cut taxes because they’re focusing on just one of the many changes that they’ve either enacted themselves or spearheaded as a government. The focus has been on the federal rate cut from 22% to 20.5% — however, the reality is they’ve introduced several other tax changes both to the personal income tax system and they’ve spearheaded with the provinces, CPP, which will result in higher payroll taxes.”

What does a $2,200 tax hike mean in context for 92% of families in Canada?

“It could be a mortgage payment for a family, it could be childcare, grocery bills. We’re not talking about a trivial amount here. It is a significant increase in the tax bill, no doubt. When we look at the middle class, they’re actually more hard-hit than the overall average. Which is ironic because that is the group of families that Trudeau government has said they want to help. In fact, what will happen in practice, there will be basically no tax decrease for anybody once the CPP tax changes are in full effect.”

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS

What happens to the remaining 8% of families?

“Either their tax bill stays the same or slightly decrease. We don’t do the analysis – who the incomes are of the 8%. It’s not something our analysis includes. What I can say is when you look at that middle group of families – these are families with income of $78,000 and $110,000. About 99% in this income range will be paying higher taxes.”