A Fraser Institute report says taxes are growing faster than any other single expense for Canadian households. Photo by Andrzej Rostek /stock.adobe.com

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In 2010, just 15 years ago, the average Canadian family paid $28,878 in taxes to all three levels of government. According to the Fraser Institute, last year the average family paid $50,721.

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That’s a 76 per cent increase — more than five per cent a year for a decade and a half.

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Did your wages increase that much annually? Most Canadians’ did not. They rose by 3.6 per cent, which means that even if your income increased, your disposable income declined thanks to government.

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According to Fraser, “Taxes have grown much more rapidly than any other single expenditure for the average Canadian family,” far faster than food, clothing and shelter combined, the so-called necessities of life.

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Taxes now consume about 42 per cent of a family’s income. The basic necessities consume 36 per cent.

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You may know you’re losing ground to inflation because the cost of necessities is rising so rapidly, but did you also know you’re losing ground to the greed of politicians and bureaucrats to shovel ever more money into the maw of government?

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Since 1961, there has been a 2,928 per cent increase in the average Canadian’s tax bill, but a 946 per cent increase in the Consumer Price Index.

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When next you’re in the grocery store cursing the rising price of coffee, canned goods and vegetables and thinking the NDP might be right about setting up government grocery stores, keep in mind that there are two sides to the affordability crisis.

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Yes, prices are rising faster than you and your family can keep up, but also keep in mind that you have far fewer dollars to spend on essentials, thanks to higher and higher taxes.

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It’s ironic (and infuriating) that the federal government has set up the Canadian Groceries and Essentials Benefit to put money in the pockets of Canadian families so they can better afford higher prices, after it has just taken the money out of those same pockets to underwrite the benefit.

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The cost of the federal bureaucracy alone, not including provincial and municipal payrolls, has increased 80 per cent since the Liberals returned to power in 2015.

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You have to imagine that has had an impact on affordability. You have less money in your pocket and your bank account to buy what you need, quite apart from what the goods you desire cost, because you’re now paying so much more for bureaucrats.

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Even the higher cost of food traces some of its origins back to government. Taxes hit not just you but retailers and suppliers, too. The trucker who brings your food from the farm or warehouse to the store pays 35 to 42 per cent of the cost of a litre of diesel in taxes to the federal and provincial governments, depending on the province.

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Because of the rising cost of fuel, his percentage right now is temporarily not as great. But as soon as U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office and stops aggravating the Iranians, the price of diesel will come down and the percentage of that price consumed by government will once again go up to 35 to 42 per cent.