OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling Prime Minister Mark Carney’s GST relief the right idea, but the wrong execution.

“It’s good that 30 per cent of Canadians will get relief, but 100 per cent of Canadians pay too much tax,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The government is right that cutting taxes makes life more affordable, but instead of sending cheques to some Canadians, the government should be cutting spending and cutting taxes for all Canadians.”

The federal government announced it is increasing the GST credit by 25 per cent for five years. The GST credit is a quarterly payment for Canadians with low and modest incomes to offset some of the sales taxes they pay. The government estimates this will benefit “more than 12 million Canadians,” which is about 30 per cent of Canada’s population.

The minor tweak to the GST rebate system highlights the urgent need to lighten the heavy tax burden on all Canadians.

Canada ranks a dismal 27^th out of 38 OECD countries on individual tax competitiveness, according to the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index. Canada ranks 22^nd on business tax competitiveness. Canada ranks behind the United States on both measures.

After adding up all the taxes paid to all levels of government, about 42 per cent of the average Canadian family’s budget goes to paying taxes.

“The average Canadian family now spends more of its income on taxes than it does on basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing combined,” according to the Fraser Institute.

“Canadians are still paying too much tax and the federal government is still wasting too much money,” Terrazzano said. “The best way the government can help Canadians deal with mortgage payments and grocery bills is to shrink the cost of government and lower taxes.

“Cutting taxes is the right idea, but Canadians need more from the government than a bigger GST credit.”