For the most part as Canadians we tend to like to mind our own business. When it comes to taxes though, there is often a level of frustration in regards to fair play. Many hard working tax payers feel that they are getting hit harder with their taxes them perhaps other businesses do, or even when it comes to personal taxes they might compare their tax situation with a family member or a neighbor.
It is important to look at the Canada tax program as a whole. First separate the two major types of income tax obligations you have which is the Federal tax, which applies to all Canadians, then the Provincial tax which applies to those within their specific province. If you are comparing your overall tax situation with a family member that lives in another province, then of course there are going to be differences. Also, every individual’s tax obligations are unique according to their circumstances. When you are trying to compare your taxes to another’s there are many variables that have to be taken into account.
Perhaps the biggest tax issue that you should be willing to pay attention to is those cases where large amounts of money are hidden in offshore venues. These are the type of circumstances that although you are far removed from it still do affect you overall.
There are some people who dislike the CRA so much that when they hear that some business or individual has been able to avoid paying taxes they say “good for them”. This may be so if they don’t get caught, but in the end you as a tax payer are suffering the consequences.
Taxes go up simply because there is not enough money in the government coffers to cover all of the expenses that the country and the individual provinces are faced with. The more people that are able to avoid paying taxes through illegal means, simply means less money being collected. There are bills to pay and the taxpayers overall have this responsibility. In the ideal world everyone should be paying their fair share.
In the last year we heard a great deal about the huge amounts of taxable money that was ending up being hidden in offshore accounts. At first it seemed like the Canadian government was going to take some tough action against this, but this issue seems to have lost its attention, and not much is being said about it. It has gone through its cooling down period, yet you as an average tax payer may have a tax official hounding you for a small tax amount that is owed. Naturally you are going to question the fairness of all of this. The one small comfort you can glean from this, is that you know you are doing your part to be a responsible taxpayer, and have nothing to question yourself about.
