VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Happy Tax Freedom Day!
That’s the day calculated by the Fraser Institute as the day you stop working for the government and start working for yourself.
Charles Lammam with the right-leaning think tank says nationally, it falls one day this year, part of what he calls a concerning trend.
“The later delay in Tax Freedom Day means a higher tax burdon for the average family. Over the last five years, we’ve seen Tax Freedom Day come six days later.”
Here in BC, it fell three days later: June 6th this year, compared to June 3rd in 2013.
“It tells us a lot about what’s happening in the province,” says Lammam. “In particular, we’ve seen a government now that, in consecutive years, has increased taxes. And not just any taxes, but very damaging types of taxes.”
By “damaging,” he means taxes that inhibit job creation and investment.
Lammam admits that’s not necessarily a bad thing if we are getting six days more worth of services, but if we’re not, we should be asking tougher questions about government spending.