OTTAWA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The majority of middle-class Canadian families are paying higher income taxes due to changes made by the federal government, according to a study released Tuesday by an independent think-tank.
On average, middle-class families will pay 840 Canadian dollars (678 U.S. dollars) more in federal income taxes this year, said the Fraser Institute of Canada
"The federal government has repeatedly claimed they've lowered income taxes for the middle class while in reality, taking their major income tax changes into account, they've actually raised taxes on the vast majority of middle-class families," said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of "Measuring the Impact of Federal Personal Income Tax Changes on Middle Income Canadian Families."
The study finds that the federal government's income tax changes will result in higher income taxes for 81 percent of middle-class Canadian families with children, including both single parent and two-parent households, whose incomes fall between 77,089 Canadian dollars (about 62,000 U.S. dollars) and 107,624 Canadian dollars (about 87,000 U.S. dollars).
While the government did reduce the second-lowest personal income tax rate from 22 percent to 20.5 percent, it also scrapped income-splitting for couples with young children and eliminated a series of tax credits, which more than offset the tax savings from the rate reduction and ultimately increased the tax burden for most middle-class families, according to the study.
"By promoting one of its many income tax changes and downplaying the others, Ottawa is leaving Canadians with an incomplete picture of the overall impact of their tax changes, which is burdening the vast majority of middle-class families with a higher income tax bill," Lammam said.
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries.
