posted 20 May 2004 05:10 PM
As far as taxes are concerned, I think the calculation is relatively simple: take the total $ collected in taxes by all federal, provincial, and municipal governments in Canada, and divide by the total GDP (i.e. the value of all goods and services that the Canadian economy produces) to get a percentage.
As far as interpreting this figure goes...
Anti-tax zealots would have us believe that this is money being sucked out of the economy. In truth, the governments spend the money in order to obtain goods and services so taxes collected do contribute to production.
How economists calculate the GDP is more of a mystery. Maybe Oliver Cromwell could explain.
[ 20 May 2004: Message edited by: MacD ]
From: Redmonton, Alberta | Registered: Apr 2002
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