58% of Canadians believe personal income tax rates should not exceed 50%

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CALGARY—The top combined personal income tax rate in every province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) currently exceeds 50 per cent—yet the majority of Canadians (58 per cent) believe that personal income tax rates should not exceed 50 per cent, finds new polling data published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Clearly there’s a difference between income tax rates in most provinces and the rate most Canadians believe is appropriate,” said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and coauthor of A Poll of Canadians on the Fair Share of Taxes.

Conversely, only 19 per cent of Canadians believe top personal income tax rates should exceed 50 per cent (while the remaining 23 per cent of respondents didn’t know or chose not to answer).

According to the same poll, only 35 per cent of Canadians want higher-income families to pay more in taxes compared to 42 per cent who want higher-income families to either pay the same or less in taxes compared to current rates.

“Despite the common refrain from Ottawa and elsewhere that the ‘rich’ don’t pay their fair share, more Canadians oppose tax increases for higher-income families than those who support tax hikes,” Fuss said.

For more results from this poll, go to A Poll of Canadians on the Fair Share of Taxes.

Media Contact:
Jake Fuss, Director of Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute

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