CALGARY, AB, July 9, 2026 /CNW/ - Despite common misperceptions, Canada's tax system is progressive and the top 20 per cent of income-earning families pay more than half (58.3 per cent) of total taxes including personal income, sales and property taxes, according to a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent non-partisan Canadian think-tank.

"The idea that top earners don't pay their 'fair share' of taxes ignores the evidence that these families pay a disproportionately large share of the total tax bill," said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Measuring Progressivity in Canada's Tax System, 2026.

The key to understanding "fairness" is comparing the share of income earned by one group compared to their share of total taxes paid. By this objective measure, the top 20 per cent of income-earning families is the only group to pay a disproportionate share of the total tax burden compared to their share of income earned.

Specifically, the study finds that the top 20 per cent of income-earning families pay a larger share of total taxes (58.3 per cent) than their share of income (49.5 per cent). On personal income taxes alone, the top 20 per cent pay nearly two-thirds (65.3 per cent) of all personal income taxes.

Conversely, the bottom 20 per cent of income-earning families pay 1.7 per cent of total taxes while earning 4.3 per cent of the total family income in Canada.

Previous research has shown that tax increases on top income earners can result in behavioural changes that reduce their taxable income through tax planning, avoidance, or evasion that results in governments raising less revenue than anticipated.

Also, increasing taxes on top income earners makes Canada a less attractive place to live and work for highly skilled people such as doctors, scientists, managers, and software engineers.

"The assertion that the top 20 per cent of earners in Canada are not paying their fair share is simply not supported by the evidence," Fuss said.

"Canadians should be aware that the country's tax system is already progressive, and calls to raise taxes further on top earners can have unintended economic consequences."

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal 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 www.fraserinstitute.org

SOURCE The Fraser Institute