The Canadian Consumer Tax Index, 2021 Edition is a new study that finds even with a substantial COVID-driven reduction in tax revenue, the average Canadian family still spent over 36 per cent of its income on taxes in 2020 compared to 35.4 per cent on basic necessities—more than housing, food and clothing costs combined. Since 1961, the average Canadian family’s total tax bill has increased nominally by 1,992 per cent, eclipsing increases in annual housing costs (1,671 per cent), clothing (629 per cent) and food (767 per cent).

Measuring Progressivity in Canada’s Tax System finds that the top 20 per cent of income-earning families pay nearly two-thirds (63.2 per cent) of Canada’s personal income taxes (provincial and federal) and more than half (54.7 per cent) of total taxes including sales and property taxes. Conversely, the bottom 20 per cent of income-earning families pay 1.0 per cent of all personal income taxes and 2.3 per cent of total taxes, due partly to the progressivity of Canada’s tax system where the share of taxes paid typically increases as incomes rise.

Industry-Level Private Sector Capital Expenditures in Canada: 1990-2019 examines how, despite the absence of a major recession (as Canada experienced in the early 1990s and 2008-09), more domestic industries experienced decreases in capital investment from 2015 to 2019 than at any other time since 1990. Critically, a majority of industries decreased investment in machinery, equipment and intellectual property products (such as software), which all significantly impact productivity.