In numerous provinces across the country, the marginal effective tax rates on people with disabilities who get jobs and increase their income approaches 100%. Sometimes it exceeds 100%. That only includes the cash cost of work.
By cash cost of work I mean you add up the taxes and the clawbacks that someone pays on their next $1,000 of earnings, and they often lose $1,000 or more. Then on top of that they can lose access to housing, drug benefits, other in-kind support.
The monetary and non-monetary loss to a person for adding $1,000 to their income can be well over $1,000. In other words, people are working for a negative wage. They have effective tax rates of well over 100% at certain income levels in certain provinces.
Do you agree this is a problem that is holding back people who are on disability support programs? Any of the witnesses can comment on that.