Canadians should prepare to dig a little deeper as the average take-home pay will get a little lighter in the New Year.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says a premium hike for employment insurance and the Canada Pension Plan will see an additional $306 collected from workers and their employers in 2012.
Workers are seeing their EI premiums rise by five cents per $100 of insurable earnings to $1.83 while the maximum insurable pay increases to $45,900 from $44,200. In addition, the maximum pensionable earnings rise to $50,100 from $48,300.
That will take about $142 from employee pay cheques who qualify for the maximum over the year. The hit on employers is slightly more at $164.
The increases take effect on January 1, 2012.
While governments did not directly raise taxes on incomes this year, the taxpayer association says Canadians will nevertheless have less money available to them for saving, investing or spending.
"Across Canada there are governments that claim they are concerned about jobs and the economy, but at the same time they are taking hundreds of dollars of disposable income out of the pockets of Canadian families," said CTF federal director Gregory Thomas," Between the employer and employee, you have $6,630 of payroll taxes. That's the price of hiring a Canadian."
A spokesman for federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the government has ushered in significant tax relief since 2006 and that the tax burden of Canadians is now the lowest in 50 years.
"There will (also) be absolutely no increase to the CPP contribution rate," added Chisholm Pothier, Flaherty's director of communications. "What is being adjusted is the maximum CPP contribution room only, something that happens every year to account for inflation."
Pothier noted that the maximum CPP benefit will increase by $320 to $11,840 in 2012.
To see how you could be affected, visit the Canadian Taxpayers Federation website.
(With files from ctv.ca and The Canadian Press)
