Today is the first day of the year our income is entirely our own.

That鈥檚 according to Fraser Institute鈥檚 annual calculation that June 9 is this year鈥檚 Tax Freedom Day.

Each year, the Vancouver-based think-tank adds up the total yearly tax burden for Canadian families by federal, provincial and municipal government.

The idea is that if taxes had to be paid up front, Tax Freedom Day marks the first day of the year families can start keeping their entire income, instead of being used to pay their taxes.

In 2017, the average Canadian family will pay about $47,000 in total taxes. That鈥檚 43.4 per cent of their annual income going to income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes and more.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult for average Canadians to add up all the taxes they pay in a year because the different levels of government levy such a wide range of taxes, and that鈥檚 why we do these calculations鈥攖o give Canadians a better understanding of exactly how much they pay to government,鈥� said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the institute.

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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