Quebecers are being ripped off

ik - I guess there are indeed other people asking the same question I've been asking for a while now: where does all that tax money of ours go?

The Gazette
Published: Monday, April 24, 2006

What do Quebecers get in return for our well-known status as the highest-taxed people in North America? Do we get services from the Quebec government that no other Canadians get? Cheaper daycare? Free Internet connections? Speedily repaired potholes? More garbage collection? Fewer people struggling along in poverty?

Generally speaking, the answer to all of the above, even daycare, is "No, we don't."
But we in Montreal carry on as though that's just fine. It's the price to pay for a charming city with great restaurants and inexpensive housing, or in the case of Quebec City, with skiing five minutes from downtown, etc., etc.

But it's not just fine. All Quebecers are getting soaked. We're actually getting very little in return for the outrageous taxes we pay. A recent study done for La Presse Affaires demonstrates exactly what a bad deal we have.

The table below (ik - click through ot the article), excerpted from the study, demonstrates that even when Montrealers have lower salaries, they pay more in taxes than do people in other Canadian cities. (We chose Edmonton.) This is true for those of us with, or without, children.

Read more here.