Quebec and Ottawa should restart the tax meter from scratch for Canadians who work second jobs and sometimes struggle to make ends meet, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) argued Thursday.
According to Statistics Canada, more than 658,000 full-time workers would have a second job in 2023.
In Quebec, a worker earning $35,000 a year in their primary job is subject to a marginal tax rate of 26.53% on the first dollars earned in their second job, according to the MEI.
“It is indecent to ask someone who has to work two jobs to make ends meet to pay 20% taxes or more on their second salary,” said Renaud Brossard, vice president of communications at MEI and co-author of the study .
“By starting the tax meter from scratch for a second job, the tax authorities would help the least well-off workers breathe a little,” he added.
According to the report, such a measure could bring affected Quebecers an average annual tax saving of $4,225. However, this would represent a revenue decline of $981 million for Ottawa and $202 million for Quebec.