Latest news with #TaxFreedomDay
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CHARLEBOIS: Where's the beef? Priced out of the Canadian grill
With summer weather finally settling in, Canadians are returning to a familiar ritual — firing up the barbecue. But as they approach the meat counter in search of steaks and burgers, many are encountering a far less familiar reality: Shockingly high prices. This year, the meat aisle has become a case study in supply-side economics and market dysfunction. Since January, according to Statistics Canada, beef prices have surged at an alarming pace. Striploin is up 34.2%, top sirloin 33.7%, and rib cuts nearly 12%. Pork rib cuts and chicken breasts have each risen 5.9%, and even meatless burger patties are 6.8% more expensive. While all proteins in the so-called 'meat trifecta' have climbed, beef leads the charge — by a wide margin. Behind these increases lies a sobering trend. Canada's beef cow inventory has dropped to just 3.38 million head — the lowest since 1989. That's a 1.2% decrease from last year, signalling more than just cyclical decline. Many cattle producers are exiting the industry while prices are favourable, opting to reinvest in less volatile sectors or shift entirely to crop production. In short, the Canadian beef industry is retreating and becoming increasingly risk-averse. South of the border, the U.S. is seeing a similar trend — but far less severe. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the American beef cow herd declined just 0.5% to 27.9 million head. And that gap shows up in retail prices. Over the past year, U.S. boneless sirloin steak rose just 5.7%, compared to a staggering 22% in Canada. Ground beef increased 10.8% in the U.S., but by 23% here at home. Beef inflation is simply hitting Canadians harder. KINSELLA: Complaint filed after Ontario farm accused of refusing to hire Israeli LILLEY: Draft trade deal with U.S. hammered out amid 'intensive discussions' GOLDSTEIN: Tax Freedom Day is June 8, when Canadians finally start working for themselves Other than a shrinking herd, there are several other contributing factors: Canada's expansive geography, higher transportation costs, a limited number of federally licensed beef processors, carbon pricing, and higher labour costs all compound the problem. Regulations and logistical inefficiencies are more burdensome in Canada, driving up prices for retailers — and ultimately consumers. But there's another possibility we can't afford to ignore: Potential collusion within the industry. In the United States, the federal government has shown little tolerance for anti-competitive behaviour in the meat sector. Under President Joe Biden, the White House launched a 2022 investigation into price fixing among major meat packers — JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and National Beef. That investigation has since resulted in several high-profile settlements, including a US$83.5-million payout by JBS in February. The Canadian Competition Bureau, by contrast, has remained largely silent on similar concerns. Perhaps it's time for that to change. The consequences are already visible. According to industry researcher IBISWorld, Canadian per capita beef consumption fell by 7.1% in 2023 and another 2.1% in 2024. This is no longer just a matter of shifting dietary preferences — it's a structural shift in consumer behaviour. Beef is increasingly seen as a luxury item, with ground beef becoming the primary choice for budget-conscious households still committed to red meat. That's unfortunate. Beef remains one of the most natural, authentic and sustainable sources of protein available to Canadians. Canadian ranchers and processors have made significant strides in improving environmental stewardship and animal welfare, often without fanfare. As a whole, beef delivers exceptional nutritional value, supports rural economies, and offers a level of traceability and food safety few protein alternatives can match. For many Canadian families, a summer steak on the grill is starting to feel more like a splurge than a staple. Consumers will continue to enjoy beef — but with moderation, and on occasions that justify the cost. Barbecue season hasn't disappeared. But for many, it's starting to look a little different: More sausages, more chicken, and less striploin. A shame, really — for a product that offers so much more than just taste.
Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
OPINION: Governments' poor fiscal management raising Canadians' tax burden
To pay for today's debt accumulation, future generations of Canadians may face higher taxes. Tax burden. The cost of living and affordability remain top of mind for Canadians, so it's critical to understand how taxes affect our household finances. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Canadians pay many different taxes (income taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes, property taxes, etc.) so it can be hard to know how much you pay in total each year. While some of these taxes are visible – -for instance, you can check your income tax return to see how much you pay in personal income taxes – -many taxes are hidden or less visible. To help Canadians understand how much we pay in taxes, each year Fraser Institute analysts calculate Tax Freedom Day — the day of the year when the average Canadian family has earned enough money to pay all taxes levied by the federal, provincial and local governments. In other words, if Canadians had to pay all their taxes up front, Tax Freedom Day is the day of the year Canadians get to start keeping the money they earn. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More This year, the average Canadian family (of two or more people) will earn $158,533 in income and pay an estimated $68,266 (or 43.1%) in taxes. So, if we paid all our taxes for 2025 up front, the average Canadian family would pay the government every dollar they earn until June 8. After working for the first 158 days of the year for the government, we now get to work for ourselves. This year's Tax Freedom Day of June 8 comes one day earlier than last year — meaning the average Canadian family must work one less day to pay off its total tax bill — because the average family's income rose faster (5.2%) than its total tax bill (4%) partly due to tax changes from governments across the country. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For example, Prince Edward Island lowered its business tax rate, Nova Scotia cut its HST rate, and both Alberta and the federal government reduced (or have committed to reduce) personal income tax rates. These changes all act to slow the growth in the amount governments collect in taxes. Despite these changes that slow growth in the tax burden today, poor fiscal management by governments across the country is raising the tax burden Canadians may face in the future. The federal government will run a projected $42.2-billion deficit this year (though the Mark Carney government's election platform suggests the deficit may actually reach $62.3 billion). In addition, combined, provincial governments across the country will run projected deficits totalling $42.7 billion. To pay for today's debt accumulation, future generations of Canadians may face higher taxes. Canadian families must work nearly half the year before they are free from their tax burden. Unless governments across the country finally get their finances in order, Tax Freedom Day will likely only come later in the future. — Jake Fuss and Grady Munro are analysts at the Fraser Institute. Columnists NHL Columnists Columnists Toronto & GTA
Cision Canada
5 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Fraser Institute News Release: This Sunday, June 8, is Tax Freedom Day, when Canadians finally start working for themselves
VANCOUVER, BC, June 5, 2025 /CNW/ - This Sunday, June 8, Canadians will celebrate Tax Freedom Day, the day in the year when they start working for themselves and not government, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. "If Canadians paid all their taxes up front, they would work the first 158 days of this year before bringing any money home for themselves and their families," said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute. Tax Freedom Day measures the total annual tax burden imposed on Canadian families by federal, provincial, and municipal governments. In 2025, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay $68,266 in total taxes. That's 43.1 per cent of its annual income ($158,533) going to income taxes, payroll taxes (including the Canada Pension Plan), health taxes, sales taxes (like the GST), property taxes, fuel taxes, "sin" taxes and more. Represented as days on the calendar, the total tax burden comprises more than five months of income—from January 1 to June 7. On June 8th—Tax Freedom Day—Canadians finally start working for themselves, and not government. But Canadians should also be worried about the nearly $90 billion in deficits the federal and provincial governments are forecasting this year, because they will have substantial tax implications in future years. To better illustrate this point, the study also calculates a Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day—the day of the year when the average Canadian finally would finally start working for themselves if governments paid for all of this year's spending with taxes collected this year. In 2025, the Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day won't arrive until June 21. "Tax Freedom Day helps put the total tax burden in perspective, and helps Canadians understand just how much of their money they pay in taxes every year," Fuss said. "Canadians need to decide for themselves whether they are getting their money's worth when it comes to how governments are spending their tax dollars." Tax Freedom Day for each province varies according to the extent of the provincially and locally levied tax burden. 2025 Provincial Tax Freedom Days The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit SOURCE The Fraser Institute
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Tax Freedom Day is Sunday, June 8, when Canadians finally start working for themselves: report
Sunday is Tax Freedom Day this year, according to the Fraser Institute, signifying the day when Canadians stop working to pay taxes levied by all levels of government. Photo by Postmedia Network files Tax Freedom Day — when Canadians stop working for the government in order to pay their taxes and start working for themselves — will arrive on Sunday, June 8 this year, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'If Canadians paid all their taxes up front, they would work the first 158 days of this year before bringing any money home for themselves and their families,' said Jake Fuss, the Fraser Institute's director of fiscal studies. Using the example of an average Canadian family with two or more members earning $158,533 annually, the study says they will pay an estimated $68,266 in total taxes or 43.1% of their annual income. Families and unattached individuals with an income of $120,135 annually will pay $50,218 in total taxes, or 41.8% of their income, according to the annual survey. Federal taxes account for 58% of the total tax bill, provincial taxes 36% and municipal taxes 6%. Canadians can calculate their Tax Freedom Day using the Fraser Institute's personal tax freedom calculator at . Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The annual survey by the fiscally conservative think tank also says that given projected federal and provincial deficits this year totalling almost $90 billion, what it describes as Balanced Budget Tax Freedom Day will be delayed by almost two weeks until June 21, if governments were obliged to cover current expenditures with current taxation. 'Today's deficits must one day be paid for by taxes,' the study says. 'Deficits should therefore be considered as deferred taxation.' Taxes used to compute Tax Freedom Day imposed by the federal, provincial and municipal governments include income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, profit taxes, excise taxes, alcohol and tobacco taxes, fuel taxes, carbon taxes, motor vehicle licence fees, import duties, natural resource fees and other levies. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They pay for public services including health care, public education, social welfare programs, national defence, policing, firefighting, waste collection, road construction and repair and fund entitlement programs such as employment insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. According to the survey, 'Tax Freedom Day helps put the total tax burden in perspective and helps Canadians understand just how much of their money they pay in taxes every year. 'It is important to note that Tax Freedom Day is not intended to measure the benefits Canadians receive from governments in return for their taxes. Rather it looks at the price that is paid for a product — government. Tax Freedom Day is not a reflection of the quality of the product, how much of it each of us receives, or whether we get our money's worth. Those are questions only each of us can answer for ourselves.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tax Freedom Day arrives one day earlier this year than in 2024 when it fell on June 9, based on the expectation that total tax revenues forecasted by the federal, provincial and municipal governments this year will increase at a slower rate than the incomes of Canadians. The latest Tax Freedom Day occurred in 2000 when it fell on June 27, almost two months after the earliest Tax Freedom Day of May 3 in 1961. The study says the precise Tax Freedom Day for Canadians depends on which province they live in. This year, Tax Freedom Day came earliest in Manitoba (May 17) and will arrive latest in Quebec (June 21). Tax Freedom Day in the other provinces in ascending order were May 31 for Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia; June 2 in Prince Edward Island; June 4 in New Brunswick; June 7 in Ontario; June 10 in Nova Scotia and June 19 in Newfoundland and Labrador. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The Canadian tax system is complex and no single number can give us a complete idea of who pays how much,' the study concludes. 'That said, Tax Freedom Day is the most comprehensive and easily understood indicator of the overall tax bill of the average Canadian family.' Finally, it should be noted that calculating the total tax levels Canadians pay has long been a controversial issue and critics of how the Fraser Institute calculates Tax Freedom Day say its numbers are incorrect and misleading, These criticisms include that the use of average family incomes instead of median incomes inflates the amount of money average Canadians pay in taxes; that it includes taxes paid by businesses as if they were being paid by families and that it fails to calculate the benefits families receive from paying taxes such as hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure they could not otherwise afford. A more accurate calculation of Tax Freedom Day, they say, would be weeks or months earlier than the Fraser Institute claims. Celebrity Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Canada Olympics
The South African
21-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
South African workforces devote one-third of salary and time to TAX
South African workforces are being completely buried by their tax obligations in 2025. Even with the National Treasury's VAT increases successfully sidestepped in the High Court, South African workforces are still under the pump. This is according to the Free Market Foundation (FMF), which recently released some sobering statistics as part of unofficial 'Tax Freedom Day.' The day it marked for this campaign was Friday 16 May 2025. And for very good reason … Thanks to this man and his department, 136 days of your year are devoted to their inconsequential government spending. Image: File The FMF says 37% of South African workforces' time and money goes towards government taxes. That equates to 136 days given purely to fulfilling tax obligations and government spending. And that is why Friday 16 May is unofficial 'Tax Freedom Day' in South Africa. You have effectively worked the whole year so far just to fund government spending. And you only start earning money for yourself from this week (19 May 2025) onwards. The FMF calculates this amount by adding up taxes like VAT, PAYE, fuel levies, and all other forms of indirect taxation … including inflation. The Finance Minister's entire premise for increasing VAT was to fund increasing SASSA grants. But what now with Budget 3.0? Image: File Moreover, by taking government's total expenditure as a percentage of the country's economic output (GDP), and multiplying it by 365 days, you get a brilliant illustration of the total tax burden facing South African workforces. The two highest spends of government budget currently are debt financing of deficits and social welfare grants. 'Effectively, every Rand you earn until mid-May goes to taxes, before you can spend it on your family, home, or hopes and dreams. Taxes don't just take money away, they shrink opportunities. Taxing earnings and buying reduces jobs and drives up prices, hitting South African workforces hardest,' says FMF Senior Associate Professor Richard Grant. Planning for retirement is harder than before, because South Africans are poorer than they were in 1995. Image: File Fascinatingly, the FMF has tracked 'Tax Freedom Day' for four decades. And it is occurring later each year. For example, in 1995, if fell on 23 April, significantly earlier than the 16 May of this year. This equates, in tax burden terms, to a jump from 30% in 1995 to 37% in 2025. 'Higher tax means less money for South African workforces. And our tax burden is already among the highest for a developing country. Meanwhile, economic growth is slowing and many feel they're getting little in return for their efforts. For four-and-a-half months' work we do for the state – and trillions of Rands handed over without question – what do we have to show for it?' Grant questioned. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
